The Blacksmith's Apprentice
by aspiringwriteress
Summary: Due to unknown forces, and a meddling wizard, a human girl is now living in Erebor as the apprentice of a famous blacksmith. But Erebor is not all silver and gold. Caelinn struggles to accept her new life in Middle Earth, deal with the shenanigans of the dwarf princes, and uncover the secrets of Erebor. After BFA, Non-Canon! UA (Universe alteration)
1. Chapter 1

**This story is currently being edited, please excuse the bad writing in the coming chapters. All rights belong to Tolkien, except for the** **characters I own.**

 **~Chapter 1~**

Thwank,, thwank, thwank. Metal beating against metal vibrates my body. I raise my arm and bring the hammer down as hard as I can, pounding the metal out.

"Where is Glóiron?" commands a cold and emotionless voice. The voice came from a blonde elf with twigs sticking out of his hair.

Two elves stand behind him. A blonde and a ginger. The blond is handsome, not beautiful like most elves are. I look back at the elf who had addressed me. I wonder why was he wearing twigs in his hair. It kinda looks like a crown with red leaves.

Realization dawns on me, it was a crown of twigs and red leaves. He's King Thranduil!

I have only heard stories told by Kili and Fili. Dwarves are known to dislike elves so I didn't really believe their stories. But he is exactly as the dwarf princes described him, tall and wearing silky blue robes. And a crown made of sticks.

What am I going to do?

Clearing my throat and standing straighter I approach the elf king.

"My master is not here right now, I speak for him in his absence." I recite what Glóiron told me to say.

"When will your master be back" Thranduil looks me up and down in disgust.

I'm wearing a tank top, breeches, carrying a hammer and covered in sweat. Not a good look on anyone.

"I don't know" I shrug, causing my sweaty hair to drop on my face. "He disappeared about a week ago and hasn't come back" I wipe the grime from my forehead. The elven king cringes. I bite my tongue to keep from smiling "Come back in about two weeks and ask again. He sometimes leaves for months or weeks at a time. It really just, varies." I babble.

Chuckling I continue "Last month he disappeared for a whole day and came back with a string of pearls for his wife's birthday present. He just…does his own thing. But anyways he's still not here and whatever business you have with him will either have to wait or be arranged with me." I say.

"Neither option in preferable. Is there another who possess his skills?" Thranduil who has remained relatively composed throughout my winded speech, is now pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Not that I know of. He's the best, of the best, of the best, sir" I say with pride.

Thranduil sighs. "My son's sword was forged by Glóiron. It shattered in a skirmish with orcs."

"Shattered? A dwarvish blade shattered against a rusty piece of metal that orcs dare to call a sword. I don't mean to be disrespectful but that sounds highly unlikely." I say.

"That is why we must speak with your master" the blond elf says. "I have had that sword for many years and it has never dulled. I desire to know the reason it shattered" Oh so he is Legolas.

Wow, Orlando Bloom isn't even half that good looking. Legolas's eyes are steely grey, not blue like in the movies. And he looks distinctly male, unlike his father and the ginger elf next to him, who I am beginning to think is a female.

"Are you sure it was forged by him, or that it was even dwarvish?" I ask Legolas. I feel so small with these elves around, I barely even reach their chins.

"You are an insolent child. It is a wonder that he even keeps you as a servant" Thranduil says.

Servant! Why that…tree shagger!

"I am his apprentice of two years, not his servant." I try to keep my composure. The nerve of that elf!

Thranduil's eyebrow raises "Interesting, he took on a girl as an apprentice. Why?"

"None of your business." I snap. "Come back sometime in the next two weeks and he may be here. And I am done with my work for the day. Goodnight your majesty."

Is it rude to turn your back on a king? If it is, then I just insulted the King of Twigs. Who no doubt had one shoved up his…you know, a lady really shouldn't use that type of language.

Thranduil, Legolas, and the ginger leave and I am able to cool the fires and wash my face in peace. The sword I had been forging is nearly done. I just needed to sharpen it. I can do that tomorrow.

After locking the forge door I throw on my oversized brown jacket. It isn't fashionable by any means, but it's warm and comfy. And a reminder of my home in London. I sigh at the memory. I haven't thought about my old life in months.

I shake my head and walk the familiar path home

Erebor is amazing if you are an architect or like lots of long stairways, bridges and large columns. I would've thought that living underground would be crowded and dark, but Erebor isn't like that.

It's very open and it feels like you're outside with the way the light fell from a large window in the top of the mountain, and the chill that comes from the stone. The walkways are wide and open, and the columns tall and decorated with dwarvish designs. Think Celtic knots, only square.

But my favorite part about Erebor is the lanterns and the torches, the ones that light the walkways and shine from inside the windows of the rooms hollowed into the mountain. They make everything look warm and inviting, like when you're walking home at night after Christmas shopping.

It's like a palace buried deep inside a mountain. The dragon had damaged the front gate and the treasure room a good bit, but over the last two years everything had been rebuilt and Erebor is once again rich and prosperous, with an addition of a gold floor in the Gallery of Kings.

Dwarves from the Blue Mountains and the Iron Hills returned to Erebor and everything is exactly as it should be. Well, almost.

Thorin is king, he, Kili and Fili had all survived! I guess Tolkien had written their deaths to make the Hobbit more dramatic. Bilbo apparently came to visit every Durin's Day as a memento of their quest.

The Hobbit movies are relatively accurate in their portrayals of the dwarves. Thorin did have blue eyes, and black hair streaked with a bit of grey. And Kili… you know, I could probably go on and on about the differences and similarities between the actors and the dwarves. But as far as I can remember Peter Jackson's films were pretty darn close.

The book however was written to be child friendly, not realistic like the LOTR series. Apparently a lot more went on than what was in either the book and movies.

My master, besides being the best blacksmith in all of Erebor, is the cousin of Gloin and Oin, and is also employed by Thorin as some sort of government official.

I think that has to do with why he disappears so often. But every time I ask him he either tells me to shut up or evades my questioning.

I begin to pant from climbing up the fifth staircase. It's a chore to get from the workshop to the house. Glóiron has a forge down near the entrances to the mines and the market place. And that is three levels below the main gate. Our house is near the upper levels, close to the palace.

I have to walk up multiple stair cases and across different walkways. Each stair case has at least a hundred steps I swear.

It's easy for an outsider to get lost in Erebor. Humans and elves don't posses the dwarvish abilities to sense depth and direction underground.

But I have walked these paths with Gloiron so many times that I can find my way there and back in the dark.

There was something I was supposed to do for Eideth, Gloiron's wife. But I can't, for the life of me, remember what she had asked me to do.

'Did it have something to do with food?' I ask myself. No, she never asked me to get eggs or anything like that. Maybe it had something to do with books? No, but it gave me a good excuse to stop by the book store.

The market room is awesome. It is a large room with huge pillars lining the walls. In between these pillars are carts of exotic cloths, jewelry, flowers and all sorts of wonderful smells. I try not to drool at everything I smell.

There are roasted hazelnuts and walnuts toasted in sugar and butter. And there's a vendor selling sticks with fried meat on them. Oh, it smells heavenly.

This was my second favorite part of Erebor. I make my way behind the pillars to the permanent shops. These are just as busy as the venders and have many more interesting things to sell.

The book store is right in between the butchers and the seamstress. It has no windows, only two large oak doors and a sign written in Khuzdul

"Hello?" I poke my head inside. "Visha! Are you here? Hello!" It's a very messy place. Books are stacked as high as my head, and the shelves lining the walls are overflowing with books.

"Caelinn is that ya?" asks a tinkling voice with a Scottish accent.

"Yeah its me. Where are you?" A thick hand shoots out from behind a bookcase towards the back. "What are you doing behind the bookcase?"

"Come here, quickly! I have something" she shouts. I walk over to the side of the bookcase and find that part of the wall had been carved into a path just wide enough for me to squeeze into. I side step my way to a doorway behind the bookcase. Wiggling out of the narrow path I find myself in a large room full of books.

It isn't like the front room which looks like a hurricane has blown in. This room is clean and organized. Bookshelves are carved into the four walls and an oak-wood table sits in the center with a candle stick placed on a corner. Each wall has two candlesticks with their candles lit.

"I didn't know this was here. What's all this?" I ask, running my fingers over the spines of the unfamiliar books. Most were written in languages that I had never seen.

"Oh just old books that contain dangerous secrets mi dear" Visha is a stout dwarf woman with greying brown hair and sparkling grey eyes. Today her beard is plated with small blue and grey glass beads.

"What types of secrets?" I ask, pulling out a black and yellow book that looks like it's written in Chinese.

"Old secrets, dark ones. Spells that should never be used." Her usually upbeat voice becomes low and serious.

"Like dark magic?" I ask. The whole room seems to drop a few degrees with those three words. I shiver and put the book back.

"Among other things." she grunts. "Alright then. This is what I wanted to show you." She lifts up a large purple book with gold lettering.

'Basic Magic' I read. "What's this?" I ask, looking at Visha in confusion.

"Gloiron asked me to find it for ya. He wants ya to start doing magic" I freeze

"He did? But I don't do magic." I say "I just make weapons, trinkets and stuff."

"Aye lass, ya do" Visha agrees. "Gloiron didn't do magic when he started either. He learned magic in his spare time and learned out how forge it into the weapons he made. That's why he's the greatest smithy in Erebor, because his weapons give their users power." She says.

"I know that." I run my fingers through my hair. "You know I don't like magic and I still don't that I should be learning it." I stop to take a breath "It's dangerous, it's not something that should be messed with. It alters the physical world in a way that is not natural. It manipulates things into something that they aren't"

"No it doesn't. Take a hunk of wood for example. Ya take a knife to it and carve it into the shape of a bear. Ya make it into somethin' that it wasn't in nature. Magic is the same way."

"But that statue is still wood. It doesn't do anything except look pretty. It-" Visha cuts me off.

"Yare a stubborn lass ya know? Yare gonna learn to use magic if you ever want to be as great as Gloiron ya hear! He said that if ya wanted to continue on as his apprentice ya were gonna have to learn magic." Visha stops her shouting and takes a few deep breaths. " I know that yare uncomfortable with it. I understand. Ya've a right to be uncomfortable. That is why ya will be learin' the basics. Know what ya should and shouldn't do. Just like a sword. Ya learn how to fight the right way, ya won't take yer head off! Or some other unfortunate limb." she jokes.

"Alright" I sigh, "I'll give it a go and we'll see if it works out." I say before she threatens me. Visha is not a dwarf I wanted to mess with. She will kill anyone who angers her without blinking an eye, put them in a box wrapped in ribbon and then send them back to their family. In pieces.

Ribbon? Why does that ring a bell?

"Aye. And don't think of comin' back here till ya've learned at least one spell. I won't sell ya another book until ya do."

"You wouldn't." I gasp. Visha just glares at me. She would. She definitely would.

'Ribbon, ribbon, ribbon ribbon' my brain kept repeating. Ribbon! I remember what I was supposed to do! Eideth wanted some more ribbons for Heidi's hair.

"Alright fine. I'll see you next year." I say. Visha snorts and I turn to go. "Oh and by the way" I looked back. "Thranduil and his son stopped by, they was looking for Gloiron. Apparently a sword he forged shattered in a skirmish with orcs. If you happen to see Gloiron before me, please inform him of that"

Visha says nothing as I slip out of the secret room and head towards a ribbon booth.

I get pink and purple, Heidi's favorite colors. After that I head home, thinking about nothing but a nice hot bath and a comfy place by the fire with a good book.

Two thick arms wrap around me and refuse to let me go. I thrash and squirm this way and that.

I can't get loose! I kick at his groin. He squawks and lets me go before crumbling into a heap on the floor.

Someone with blond hair is laughing hysterically behind a column. I look back at my assaulter and recognize the poor dwarf.

"Fíli, shut up and help your brother!" I swear those two were nothing but trouble. "I'm so sorry Kíli." I pat his back awkwardly. He grunts and I don't know what to do. I'd help if I could, but I seriously had no clue what I could do.

"Oh he'll be alright." Kíli's moans interrupt Fíli. "In a little while." Fíli adds as an afterthought.

"Yeah, right. Well if he's alright then I'm just gonna go and I will see you two later. Again I am so sorry." I say before scurrying away as quickly as I can, all the while hoping they won't tell Dís.

 **This story will be updated every Friday night until it's finished. Again this story is being edited so please excuse all grammatical errors, inconsistencies and overall bad writing in the coming chapters.**


	2. Chapter 2

**All rights belong to Tolkien,** **except for Caelinn, Eideth, Gloiron, Milly and Visha. They're mine.** **This story is currently being edited, so please excuse all of the inconsistencies and bad writing within the coming chapters.**

 **~Ch 2~**

I slam the door to my room shut. I couldn't believe it. I had just kicked Kili in the balls. Dwarves were tough, but not that tough. I feel horrible.

To forget about that incident I decide to take a nice long bath. Afterwards I went to look at that book Visha gave me. I snuggle up in front of my fireplace.

 _Basic Magic._ The gold letters stood out boldly against the deep purple leather. It was old and worn by time not use. The binding creaked a bit as I opened it.

' _Magic is a supernatural force that is channeled by the will power of the caster. The stronger your will, the more effective your spells. It is an art form, a craft, a tool that is neither good nor evil. The caster is of either good or foul nature.'_ I read.

 _"_ A tool and art form." I mumble.

I guess it could be that way. A sword is a weapon it can either be used to defend or destroy. It won't get up by itself and slice somebody in two. Someone or something has to be in control of its actions.

"But you should still be wary of the blade as it can still harm even if you are careful." I said.

Ok so Visha was right. It is a tool, I just have to be careful when using it.

Reading a bit more into magic I find that the spells/incantations were in multiple languages, Dwarvish, Elvish, and several languages of man. But predominantly in Elvish. It made sense because the Elves were the first to use magic.

Spells could be cast without words, but it was extremely difficult and took a lot of focus. Spells could be created through careful study. The words had to be carefully paired to result in the desired actions.

There was some potion use as well, but it was not very common.

It was late when I finally put the book down. I wasn't even halfway through.

Words, diagrams and directions run through my mind as my eyes begin to droop.

* * *

Morning comes all too soon. The fire had died and my small window shined light on my face. It was too bright!

I roll over and groan. I just want to sleep for the rest of the day.

'BANG, BANG, BANG!' I jump at the noise. "Caelinn, get up! You've got ten minuets until eight. I suggest you get a move on." Eidith calls through the door.

Moaning I pushed my blankets off and looked at my room while getting dressed.

It was a mess.

I had two bookcases next to my bedroom door that were packed with books. What didn't fit in my bookshelves was placed in messy piles along the edges of the walls.

Across from my bed was the door to the bathroom and the fireplace. It wasn't a very big fireplace, but it was better than nothing.

I had books on top of the mantle as well. Books that I thought were special.

I had a book of elvish poetry, dwarvish lore, and a book of fairy tails from home

A sudden wave of homesickness hits me. I want to see my mom and dad and my two brothers and baby sister.

Crouching down I reached beneath my bed to search for a large book.

The book was about a foot long and nine inches wide. The spine itself was as thick as my hand.

It was once a dictionary, but now it was now hollowed out and contained something very precious to me.

My iPhone.

Two years ago I found my way to Middle Earth by accident.

Actually I didn't even find my way here I just…I honestly don't even remember what happened.

I had been running down an alleyway and then I found myself lying face down with a mouthful of grass.

After two years my battery was still at 2% power. I've tried to make phone calls (which didn't work because there's no service here) play games, listened to music, but nothing would make it run out.

I don't know why it bothers me, but it does. Something feels wrong about it. I'm probably being paranoid as usual, but there is really no way of knowing for sure.

I sigh and flip the blue phone over.

I'm sure most people would consider it a blessing, having a phone that never ran out. Ignoring my paranoid thoughts I type in the code and go into my pictures.

I scrolled through until I found the picture of my family.

We were in front of the Eye of London. My mom had black hair and brown eyes. She was beautiful. My dad had pale blonde hair and bright green eyes.

My brothers, Ethan and Evan looked like my mom and my baby sister Natalie had my dad's hair combined with my mom's eyes. I was the only one to inherit my dad's green eyes.

Sighing, I carefully place the phone back in the book and slide it under my bed.

I had to get to the forge and finish that sword.

My master left me a list of things to make while he was gone, and that sword is all I have left to do.

I throw on my coat and look in the mirror.

My hair was a mess. Back home I'd throw it in a ponytail and go, but dwarves are a bit peculiar about their hair. Women had to have elaborate braids in both their beards and hair to show respectability and such.

I can't braid my hair myself so Eideth normally does it for me.

"Caelinn! You better come eat before it's all gone!" calls the gruff voice belonging to Eideth.

"Coming!"

I race out before anyone eats the last piece of bacon. The dining room was located right by the kitchen. It was a very large hall with a large oak table in the center. There weren't any chairs, just benches with cushions.

There was still bacon left! Three pieces are all mine! I grab the bacon, a roll, cheese , and the whole bowl of strawberries.

Dwarves weren't fond of fruits and veggies, but our cook Milly knows I'm fond of strawberries and puts a bowl of them out for me once a week.

"Morning Eideth! Sleep well?" I ask Eideth.

Eideth had blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. She wore a green dress with gold vines twisted along the bottom. Her beard was twisted to match the twisting vines.

"Yes very well since Gloiron wasn't here snoring" She says.

I giggle. Gloiron snores so loudly that he shakes the whole mountain at night.

"Do you think he'll be back soon?" I ask.

"Who can say? He might come back sometime next year for all we know" Eideth says biterly.

"Yeah" I agree and nibble at my strawberries. "But at least he always comes back." I say.

"Yes, that he does. Eideth sighs. Despite her gruff words about her husband she really did love him.

"So," I wanted to end the silence "I got a book from Visha yesterday"

"Oh Mahal save us from this girl and her incessant reading" Eideth raises her hands and looks towards the ceiling.

Eideth thinks that I spent too much time reading and should be out at dances or with other girls my age (dwarven girls about 80 years old).

"Its not that type of book Eideth, it's a magic book. Gloiron asked Visha to find it"

"Oh that one. Ugh, leave it to Visha to find a rare book." Eidith scoffs.

"What's wrong with books? They contain knowledge and stories and provide hours of entertainment" I say.

"A man can provide hours of entertainment as well" Eideth says suggestively.

"Ew! Eideth! That's, that's just wrong! Ew." I shudder. I wasn't into guys yet. I had more important things to do.

"You're getting on years, old enough to marry. There are quite a few dwarf boys with their eye on you." Edith says.

"But I am not a dwarf." I argue.

"But you are part of this family! And as far as anyone's concerned, that makes you are a dwarf. You certainly act like one with that pig-headed stubbornness of yours" Eideth shouts. "And I would prefer if you called me Mom" she finishes.

I duck my head in shame. Glorion and Eideth had legally adopted me without question. They brought me into their home out of kindness. And I appreciate that, but this wasn't my home. It never would be, not even if I lived here for a thousand years.

"Eideth" I say quietly, while bitting off some bacon "I have plenty of years to find a husband. I'm not going to rush into anything. I want to focus on my trade right now. I have four years as an apprentice left and then I'll be a master at my trade." Eideth already knew all this of course. I shove another strawberry in my mouth.

"Yes but you'll be twenty by then" Eideth says.

"Twenty-one" I contradict.

Eideth waves me off.

"It doesn't matter. You should have at least one babe by then."

"A lot can happen in four years. For all we know you could be a grandma this time next year" I point out.

"Aye, if you ever get your nose out of those stupid books"

"Agh!" I feigned hurt. "They are not stupid. Oh, you horrible woman!" I say dramatically while placing my arm across my forehead.

"Enough with your dramatics." Eidith smacks me upside the head. "A little babe running around would be quite a treat" She smiles happily.

"In your dreams grandma"

Eideth had taken many years to finally have one child, Heidi, so I guess I understand where she's was coming from.

"Come over here so I can braid your hair." I obey and sit with my back towards her. "So this morning an elf from Mirkwood, Prince Legolas, came to pay us a visit."

"Oh how'd that go? You were nice right?" I snicker, knowing she wasn't.

"Of course I was polite. Why wouldn't I be?" She gives me a fake smile. "Anyways he asked when Gloiron would be back and I said I didn't know so I brought him to ask you but you were snuggling with your book."

"What! You brought an elf into my room while I was asleep!"

"Shut up there's no need to shout. You're usually awake at that hour of the morning."

"But still, you brought an elf into my room?" I gape.

"He was with Kili and Fili, they were showing their guest around and they stopped by to invite us for dinner tomorrow. And by the way, Kili wanted me to tell you that you were so sweet while asleep." Edith says.

"Oh my gosh" I breathe and bury my face into my hands while Eideth ties off the ends of my braid.

"Would you stop overreacting. You need to start acting your age." she says.

"But, while I was sleeping!" Eideth just walks away into the kitchen, completely ignoring me.

"You should get going, the fire at the forge is probably about out." she calles out to me.

"Yeah, right. Please don't let anyone in while I'm sleeping from now on." I was sure I looked horrible, especially to an elf!

"I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of it! Now off with you!"

"Just please don't do it anymore. I'll see you later!" I go back to my room real quick to grab that book before heading out. There was a spell in there to forge a weapon that caught fire during battle, I wanted to try it.

 **Thank you for reading this far. The next 14 chapters will be a bit funny until I finish editing them. It might take me another month or so to do that. I'd appreciate some feedback for my writing. Both the good, the bad, and perhaps a few ugly if it's not too much trouble. Again thank you and I shall update as soon as I can!**


	3. Chapter 3

**All rights belong to Tolkien. This story is currently being edited, so please excuse all of the inconsistencies and bad writing within the coming chapters. I am beginning to wish I had never started this thing. It is a monster!**

 **Updates will be coming out every Friday from now on!**

~Ch 3~

I quickly smashed a metal rod into the appropriate shape for a small sword.

" _Gwaedh i lach an i rhaud o sen megil_ " I recited twice while pounding out the blade.

The book said to shape the blade and recite the incantation twice during the process. Then it said to cool the blade in ice water.

Easy enough to find. The wells in Erebor were far below the surface so the water was always ice cold. I shuddered, remembering my first bath here. I thought the water was hot so I jumped in.

The next step involved constructing the hilt, which required no magic. The instructions said to place a single jewel, about .5 inches in diameter, into the hilt, just above the handle.

I had a topaz gem from a previous task that would be perfect.

Gems were often used in objects that were magical. The gem in a way is like a soul to the object. It channels the "energy" of the universe when the spell that was woven into the object is activated.

With a casting spell, the spell uses the energy of the caster to manifest itself, the gem placed in an object allows it to create its own energy so it would not expend the energy of its user or creator.

I constructed a simple hilt to fit the gem. To melt the metal together I placed it, hilt only, in the blazing hot coals of the fire and left it for a bit.

I brushed sweat off my forehead and gulped down a pitcher of water.

"Excuse me miss?" Someone said. Lowering the pitcher I looked at the owner of the voice. He was a dwarf with his black beard braided into two long strands and clinched with silver bands.

I didn't like him. "What can I do for you today sir?" I asked with a politeness that I didn't feel.

"Is this the forge of the blacksmith Gloiron?" he rumbled and stepped closer. Something about him wasn't right. I didn't like how he carried himself. He seemed…cruel.

I gulped. "Yes, this is. I am his apprentice. Caelinn, at your service" I bowed. "My master is not here right now, what can I do for you in his stead?"

The dwarf shuffled around and picked up a few of my tools. I wanted to snap at him to put them down.

"Would you be so kind as to deliver a message to him?" He held out a crumpled letter.

"Yes, I will do that" I grabbed the letter and tried not to since as his hand brushed against mine.

"Thank you my dear." The dwarf said before leaving.

I shuddered and ran my hands up my arms. Something was really off about that dwarf.

"You know what? I'm just being paranoid! He is a completely normal dwarf who just has business with Gloiron." I assure myself. "Nothing is wrong!"

Figuring that the hilt was hot enough I took it out and lightly hammered it into shape before dousing it in cold water.

I reread the instructions and made sure that I had done everything correctly. I had not missed a single step. I just had to choose a word to activate the spell and whisper it into the gem while placing it.

I carefully tapped the gem into the hilt and whisper "Id-ursu" The process was complete.

The blade was very good considering I had just thrown it together in the last eight hours.

My master would be proud. All his yelling, criticism and making me work hours into the night had obviously paid off.

He yells a lot. But not in anger, he has a very loud voice to begin with, and when he sees something he doesn't like his volume control goes out the window.

"Grrrugle" my stomach growled. I hadn't eaten since breakfast. I wondered what Milly had prepared for dinner. It was Thursday, so tonight we would be having roasted chicken, minced meat pies, fried peaches, and bean soup. I mentally gag at the memory of bean soup. If anyone ever goes visiting with dwarves remember; do NOT try the bean soup.

"Grruuurgle!" I needed to get home. I needed food!

I haphazardly wrapped my little sword in some ruined cloth and ran home as fast as I could.

The only reason I didn't stop to take a breather was the thought of those divine meat pies. Just the thought of them made my mouth water.

"I'm home!" I burst inside and ran to the kitchen "Milly what's for dinner?! Milly?" The kitchen was empty of food. Did they eat without me? Or was it later than I thought? "Milly?"

"What are you doing here?" I jumped. Milly was standing in the pantry.

"Oh, you scared me. I came home for dinner."

"You were supposed to go to dinner at the palace" she shrieked.

"But Eideth said that was tomorrow night!"

"No it's tonight! Hurry and get dressed" Milly shoved me into my room and tore into my wardrobe. I washed myself off and put on appropriate undergarments and shoes.

Milly dragged the dress over my head and laced up the back. My hair was still good from this morning so she just placed a few jeweled clips into my hair before shoving me out the door.

Running to the palace wasn't easy, especially in a dress. I would be a mess by the time I arrived.

"Hi! Sorry I'm late." I panted when I reached the dinning hall.

"You're just in time lassie, don't you worry" said Balin. He patted the empty seat between him and Dwalin. I 'majestically' flopped into the chair. still panting. I was definitely going to call Eideth out on this later.

What made you late?" Dwalin asked. Dwalin was big with tattoos across his arms and hands. He wasn't partially bald like he was in the movie. He had all his hair in a thick braid that reached mid back, while Balin looked pretty much the same as he did in the movies.

"I just" I panted "finished my first magic weapon and I thought dinner was tomorrow night"

"Oh a magic weapon. Those are very difficult to make. What does this weapon do?" asked Balin.

"It is supposed to catch fire in battle. At least that's what I hope it will do."

"Hmm" grunted Dwalin. Dwalin never really liked me much. He thought that I was too air headed to be a blacksmith.

I could almost imagine what he would do if he ever saw that it didn't work.

 _"_ _Ha what did I tell you"? She would never be able to do it. Ori, Gloin, Balin, Kili, Fili, pay up!"_

"I can't wait to try it out" I tell Balin.

"Perhaps Kili or Fili should test it first, to make sure it works and won't explode" he says

"Explode?" I ask while Balin shrugged.

"It happens sometimes, or the weapon will just shatter instantly" he said.

Shatter. Like Legolas' sword?

"What would cause a magic weapon to shatter?" I ask.

"Lots of things, damage to the stone inset on the weapon, age, or it struck another magic weapon forged by the same maker."

"So if say, a perfectly good sword, struck another sword that was made by the same blacksmith, they would both shatter?"

"Only if they were both magical." Dwalin pipped up. "The same energy courses through them that was first given to them by their creator. It is like a brother fighting a brother, the weapons recognize the common energy and refuse to fight one another."

"So you can't even practice with those swords if they have the same maker?"

"No you can practice with them, I'm afraid I don't really understand why the weapons shatter when they fight to kill. You should ask your master when he gets back." Balin said.

Alright, I would do that.

When Legolas fought, did the other blade shatter or was his gemstone damaged? I needed to look at the sword, maybe I could unravel this mystery before it got any stranger. I only learned about magic twenty four hours ago and now it seemed to have become an extremely important part of life. It was all around me and until now I had never given it a second thought.

The dwarves cheered and proposed a toast for whatever reason. I silently sipped some water. I didn't care all that much for ale and I was still underage.

None of the dwarves belched. It was because they were in the presence of ladies. Eideth and Heidi sat at the left end of the table with Thorin's sister Dis. Kili and Fili sat at Thorin's right, across from the ladies. I was at the other end of the table, away from them.

I felt very uncomfortable. I didn't belong really. Everyone here had known each other for years. I had only really gotten to know Kili and Fili.

I was still an outsider even after two years.

I'm sure they didn't mean to ignore me, but I still felt like I was intruding.

Food was eaten and drink was drunk over the next hour, by then I was ready to leave. Dinner was over and everyone was heading to a room that was the equivalent of a living room.

As everyone was heading there I slipped out of the hall to go home.

"Caelinn!" I turned to see Kili running towards me. I smiled before blushing. I remembered yesterday.

"Hi" I squeaked.

"Hi" He smiled "I'm sorry about yesterday I didn't mean to scare you"

"Why are you apologizing? I should be sorry…I overreacted" I ducked my head to hide my embarrassed blush. "Anyways I am so so so so sorry."

Kili's hand tilted my head up to look at him. "Don't worry about it." He smiled "You look pretty tonight" He said.

"Oh, thank you. You look very nice as well." Awkward silence. "Anyways. I'm going to go home now"

"Why?" Kill shouted.

"I, I've been working all day, and I'm really tired" I lied. I wanted to get out of this awkward moment.

"No you're not. I've seen you work for two days straight without sleeping. I know that you are not tired. "Please tell me, what's wrong?" His eyes were as big a saucers, begging me to tell him my thoughts.

"I forged a magic sword today. And I don't know if it works so I want to go try it." That actually was true.

"Really!" Kili's eyes shined bright. "Can I come too?"

"I guess so, but won't they miss you?" I gestured towards the lounge.

"Not as much as you" He grinned. I highly doubted that anyone would notice my absence.

"Ok then no will ever notice us leave. Come on!" I ran out of the palace with Kili in tow. Home wasn't too far away thankfully. Inside I brought the sword from my room and unwrapped it.

Kili's eyes widened as I brought it out. It looked like an average sword except for the topaz gem that shone brightly in the candle light.

"Beautiful" He whispered.

I was confused. It looked like a regular battle sword with no flourishes. I looked up and saw that he wasn't looking at the sword. I blushed, hoping he didn't notice it. "What is the word?" He asked reaching for the sword.

"Id-ursu" I said.

"Fire" he translated. I nodded.

Stepping away from me he said "Id-ursu"

Only the tip flamed to life. The rest of the sword stayed sword. "It didn't work!" I shrieked. Kill started laughing and swinging the blade around, shifting it from one hand to the other.

"Nice balance!" he lunged and did a series of other attacks. He was behaving like a two year old.

"Give it back, it doesn't work right!" I reached to grab it, he danced out of my reach. He held the sword to the side and I tackled him to the ground.

Straddling him I wrenched the sword from his hands. "Ow!" he whined.

"You deserved that" I spat. Kili smiled up at me.

The front door opened. "Caelinn where are y… oh. Oh good gracious."

 **Sorry that this is taking so long. I'm moving again and I have a severe case of writer's block. Again thank you for reading!**

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	4. Chapter 4

**All rights belong to Tolkien. This story is currently being edited, so please excuse all of the inconsistencies and bad writing within the coming chapters.**

 **~Ch 4~**

Eideth was home!

"I suggest you two get a room, Dís is coming over" she grins.

My face is burning. And my ears start feel hot as well. I jump up and away from Kíli, whose grinning like an idiot.

"It wasn't like that" I say quickly. "I-I was showing him my new weapon and he wouldn't give it back so I tackled him" I stutter.

I would never hear the end of this. Oh gosh I hoped she didn't tell Dís! Lord knows what Kíli's mother would do to me.

I hear Kíli snicker behind me. I shoot him a glare. He stops snickering, but he still has that goofy smile on his face, the one that makes him look like a little boy.

"So that's where you two went" I look back to the spitting image of Thorin. Dis looked exactly like her brother. When I first met her I couldn't tell the two apart. Now I could notice the more feminine features. By dwarf standards Dís and Thorin were average looking. Heavy features were considered beautiful to dwarves. Gloin was apparently drop dead gorgeous and Balin was once a looker too. Dori, Nori and Bifur were very good looking while Ori was considered cute. Dwarf and Human likes completely differed, end of story.

"Hi Caeyin!" That was Heidi's name for me, Caeyin. She couldn't pronounce my name yet so I was stuck with it.

"Hi Heidi" I wave at her. She wanders over to her room and leaves all of us alone. Eideth had not said a word. Dís shifts her gaze from me to Kíli, then back again. She isn't a stupid woman. She knew something was odd about our behavior. Kíli had stopped grinning but had remained quiet. Normally Kíli would start yapping away whenever someone he knew came into his range of view.

"What's going on?" Dís demands. I pick up the sword from the ground and hold it out for her to inspect. She eyes it suspiciously until she catches sight of the gem. She knew exactly what it was. "Show me" she commands.

Oh good grief. This would haunt me for the rest of my life.

"Id-ursu" I speak as loudly and clear as I can. Again only the top part of the sword flamed to life. It looked like a torch.

Dís' eyebrow raises and she bursts into laughter. Last time I ever showed her anything I did.

She finally stops laughing and takes the flaming sword from me. The moment she does though the sword goes out.

"The spell only lasts for the one who called it" she observes while examining my handy work. "This is a good sword. Except for the little light show" Dís chuckles.

"Yeah. I'll do better next time" I sigh.

"Yes, you'll do better next time. Practice makes perfect." Dis agrees, handing the blade back to me. She turns to Kíli "So what were you two doing before I got here?"

Kíli face warps into a big smile "I wouldn't give her the candle back and she attacked me. Wrapped her hands around my throat she did." He acts it out "Lucky for me Miss Eideth came in and distracted her. I was able to knock her right off." Really? I'm the bad guy?

"It's not a candle" I grumble. Everyone laughs at my pouty face.

* * *

The next morning I gp down to the forge before breakfast was served and throw _Candle_ , as it had been dubbed, into the wall. The metal rings against the stone and clatters to the ground.

I decided to turn my frustration into something productive and began to shape some clay into a rose pendant.

Candle, of all things to call it, that was the most stupid. No doubt Kíli had told Fíli and and everyone else in Erebor about my little candle. I know I'm overreacting, but it hurt my feelings. Kíli was always teasing me about something.

Wether it was my hair, my choice in clothing or whatever caught his fancy. It wasn't a nice teasing either. It was ore often than not a mean teasing, like… _Na na I don't like your braids_. Then he'd reach over and yank them out.

Then there is the nice Kíli that I like. Like last night he had called me beautiful. He might have been slightly drunk but, I honestly never knew which Kíli I would get. He was almost as bad as his mother and uncle.

"Hello?" someone says. I recognize the voice from a few days ago.

"Come on in" I turn to Legolas. "Gloiron is still gone." I say.

"I know. I came here to see your new weapon. Kíli told me about it this morning"

"Oh you mean Candle?" I gp to the wall I had thrown it at. I hand it to Legolas who admires it like a child would admire his presents on Christmas.

"This is a good sword" He finally says. I feel a small bit of pride flare up in my chest.

"I learned from the best" I state proudly. Legolas smiles. Yeah, he was so much cuter than Orlando Bloom.

What is it with me and smiles? I guess I'm attracted to nice smiles. I'm a weirdo.

"So Kili told you about my sword?"

"Yes, he was very impressed with it. He speaks highly of you and your skill" Legolas says.

Kili spoke highly of me? I thought I was just another person to play jokes on.

"So Legolas about your sword." Legolas looks up " When it shattered, did the other weapon it hit shatter?"

"No" he flips Candle, checking its balance. "The ax stayed whole."

I bite my lip. "Can I see the shards?" I ask.

"I do not know, my father keeps them"

"Why? Is he Captain Control Freak?" Legolas' eyes widen in surprise. I guess not very many people dared to speak that way about his father.

"No… he is King Control Freak" his serious expression is replaced with smile. I laugh.

Maybe elves weren't too bad. I know I like this one.

"The blade is well made, but the spell is weak, it was only bonded to the tip."

"How can you tell?" I ask.

"Elves can sense magic if we choose." He looks at me "You have a strong magic in you"

"Really?I never noticed" I shrug. To be honest I thought Humans were boring. Dwarves carved palaces in stone, Elves did magic, Hobbits were simple and happy, Orcs were nasty and gross. What did humans do?

Legolas nods. "You need to go slower when forging the blade and recite the spells all throughout the shaping of the metal, otherwise only one spot will activate."

"Where'd you learn magic from?"

"I like to read" He says it like it is the most common hobby in the world. First time I met a man in Middle Earth who liked to read.

"What do you like to read?" I ask. I want to know a bit more about this prince. He was a bit of a blank slate throughout the LOTR series, both books and movies.

"Nearly anything. When I was younger I wasn't allowed go outside the palace so I joined my mother in the library. I had more than enough free time to spare in previous years."

"Do you not now?" I ask.

"Not as often as I would like." Legolas admits.

"That's sad, I couldn't imagine going one day without reading" The mere thought is horrifying to me.

"You like reading?" He looks surprised.

"Yes! Anything I can get my hands on" I say proudly. Legolas steps closer.

"Do you prefer the Tale of Beren and Luthien or the Ballad of Nimrodel?" Legolas had excitement in his eyes. I don't know where that came from.

"Beren and Luthien, I love their story" Legolas smiles.

"Most of my people don't like that tale, a man and an elf falling in love. I'm glad to have finally met someone who shares my tastes"

"Elves don't like it? I thought it was a beautiful tale. It was very similar to a popular play back home" I say.

"You are not from here?" he asks.

"No I lived," I sigh and gesture to my left. I didn't know which direction I was pointing to though. "Somewhere to the far west. It's gone now, but it was very different from anything here." That was partially true. What else am I supposed to say? _Hey I'm from 15,000 years in the future and I know about a war that's gonna happen in 60 years!_

"What was the play called?"

" _Romeo and Juliet_ by William Shakespeare." I didn't really care for it though, I had to read it for English class. I thought that the Elvish story was sweet and far less dramatic.

"Did they die in the end too?" he asks me.

"Yeah they killed themselves" I say. Legolas eyebrows practically fly off his face. "Don't ask me why, they weren't very smart" I add as an explanation.

"Perhaps I do not want to hear that tale" he says after his shock.

"Probably not. I didn't enjoy reading it."

"Then I most certainly do not care to hear it." he says very decidedly.

"Didn't wanna tell it" I say as I walked back over to the now finished rose pendant. I look back up to talk to Legolas and find him gone. He had left the sword on the table near the door.

Why did he leave? Was I rude or something? Did he not enjoy talking to me?

Shrugging it off I went over to the table and wrote some forging plans out. The next thing I was going to make would be made right.

Or maybe I should try to make a pair of diamond cufflinks that didn't unfasten until told, like the ones Gandalf gave to Old Took.

I decide against it and went leafing through my book for something that I could get right.

 **Well thanks to everyone who's been reading this. I'm still editing so please excuse the inconsistencies.**


	5. Chapter 5

**All rights belong to Tolkien. This story is currently being edited, so please excuse all of the inconsistencies and bad writing within the coming chapters.**

 **~Ch 5~**

I decide to start smaller instead of going all out like I did with the sword. My master may have been a blacksmith by trade, but he also dabbled in other areas of metal work. He taught me the basics of jewelry making, sculpting, and many other boring subjects.

I make a small bracelet with seven white diamonds equally spaced around the metal. I'm done with the bracelet I just need to capture light.

To do that I needed a vial, a spell, a potion, and a light source.

 _Acquire four white roses with petals attached, 1/4 tsp powdered quartz, 1 cup water, 3 drops cerolean extract._

Cerolean is a funky fern like plant with a very pungent smell. Its often used in medicines here. I'm not sure if it exists back home, but it does here. Lucky for me its easily acquired and really cheap. Roses e\are hard to find in Erebor, but I found them eventually and they were really expensive.

 _Remove petals from stem and create an essence with 1 cup water. Condense essence to 1/2 cup and add 3 cerolean drops. Mixture should glow light blue. Mix in quartz powder and direct light into potion and recite incantation._

There were several ways to capture light. I chose this one because it was the most simple procedure that I couldn't possibly mess up.

I wish Gloiron would come back and help me out, tell me what to do. I have no clue what I'm doing. Half the time I'm rereading the directions because they are so vague.

After Legolas mentioned that the spell was only forged into the tip I went back and reread the directions. They said nothing about casting the spell throughout the forging of the blade.

I guess it was common knowledge around here, but I'm not from here.

"Day and night, day and night, you will blow my mind, blow my mind, and I can't help, help myself at a-all." I sing while I angle a mirror to reflect the firelight into my potion.

"That is a strange song" I yelp and whirl around, nearly dropping the mirror in my hand.

"Legolas" I breathe. "Where'd you run off to yesterday?" I demand.

"I am very sorry about that, I had an errand to run." He seems honest, but I wasn't sure I believe him.

"For King Control Freak?" I ask

"No for a friend of mine, Tauriel." My mouth nearly drops.

She was real? Why didn't Fili and Kili never tell me about her. Oh I was so asking about her the next time we met. Did Tauriel have a crush on Kili? Did Kili still have a crush on Tauriel? Pay back for dubbing my sword Candle (though it was better than Flicker) formulates in my mind.

"Its no big deal that you ran out, just make sure to say bye next time ok?" Legolas flashes his million dollar smile and I couldn't help blushing as I turn back to my work. He has a bad habit of making a my heart skip a beat.

I had just finished the potion. It was weird. The potion shone through the glass like lava. The light kept fading then flickering back like fire did.

"Perfect!" I chirp. I rush over to the bracelet I had made and place it in a shallow bowl. I pour some of the glowing mixture in and recite a simple spell.

The potion glows a bit brighter before fading out. The light had been absorbed by the diamonds. I brush my fingers over the bracelet and it slightly glows with firelight.

"You did it correctly" Legolas says. "But the spell is weak" He takes the bracelet from me. "You need to work on your concentration."

"Thanks for the advice" I mumble and slump down into a chair. I need help. "How am I supposed to work on my concentration?" Legolas shakes his head.

"I do not know" he admits.

"Then why are you telling me to work on my concentration Mr. Know-it-All?" I sass.

"Magic is instinctive to elven kind. Few humans have that natural instinct, but the fact that your spell worked the first time in both cases, shows some raw talent." his voice is so steady and calm, it was almost like talking to a robot.

"Hmp" I turn back to my book and leaf through it. "Legolas, Gloiron learned from this book. How did he learn from this, if I can't even work a simple spell?" Legolas shrugs. He stands very straight and stiffly I note. He needs to stop, that he looks like a stuck up prince.

"You need to stop standing like that, you look like you're snobby" I say.

"Like what?" He questions.

"Stiff, straight, proper, etcetera" I list.

"This is how I've always stood." he insists, I just shrug.

"You just look uncomfortable and that makes other people uncomfortable." He says nothing so I decide to start a conversation. "So, how long are you staying in Erebor?"

"Until my father concludes his business with Thorin here."

"So you didn't come here just about the sword?" I ask.

"I wouldn't come all this way to complain about a shattered sword. It was my father who insisted I come." I swear for a moment it looks like Legolas was rolling his eyes.

It is true that his father can be ridiculous at times. I can only imagine how embarrassed Legolas was of his father. I hold back a laugh, remembering the comics of Thranduil and Legolas I found on Pinterest. You know what, I can imagine how embarrassed Legolas felt, I was embarrassed reading some of them.

"What would you have done if you had stayed home?"

"Border patrol, making sure that the spiders and orcs don't invade our lands."

"How long have you been doing that?" I ask, curious as to how old Legolas really was.

"About four hundred years now."

"Is it odd to see everything else age around you as you stay the same" Legolas sits back on his heels and contemplates for a moment.

"Sometimes. In a hundred years I would think about you one day and decide to go visit and find that you died some forty or fifty years ago." He answers me. That is a bit morbid.

"Is it odd or sad to get to know people from other races and then go back to pay them a visit and find that they've been dead for a long time?"

"It is disheartening, but there is nothing I can do about it." I nod in agreement.

"This conversation has gotten very depressing." I announce.

"Indeed, shall we brighten things up?" Legolas grins.

'Indeed we shall" I mimic "I have to go to Dale for some supplies, are you free to join me?"

"I believe so" Legolas smiles and holds the door for me as I walk out of the forge.

Legolas and I walk around Dale as I get various materials for projects. Several times Legolas asks to carry the things I buy. I always say 'No thank you Legolas, I am more than capable of carrying two objects'. Most of the stuff I bought is small enough to fit in my purse.

Heidi was having a birthday soon, the day before mine actually. Because of that we celebrate our birthdays on the same day.

I stop by a candy shop and buy two bags of peppermints. One for today and the other for Heidi's birthday. I pop one in my mouth and offer one to Legolas. He eyes is suspiciously before carefully putting it in his mouth. I smile and suck on my peppermint happily.

"This is very good" Legolas announces suddenly. I laugh loudly.

"That's kinda obvious!" I chuckle some more and pop another in my mouth.

Dale is a beautiful city. The people of Lake Town had repaired all the damage and had managed to keep all of the original architecture. Children ran past us laughing and flying kites.

"Can you tell me of your home?" Legolas asks suddenly.

"Well, what do you want to know?" How am I going to explain the modern world to him without letting it slip that I know about the future?

"Where was it located?" That I can answer that easily.

"It's over to the west like I say, and way over the ocean." I remember the plane ride from London to New York, it was so long! Not something that I want to go through again.

"Why did you come here if it is so far away" Think quick Caelinn!

"We came to visit my mother's family. And while we were here my parents separated and my father went back. That was about three years ago and I haven't seen him since" That was true, my parents had divorced three years ago and my dad moved back to New Jersey and my mom stayed with us and her parents in London.

That picture I have on my phone was the last one taken before they told us they were getting a divorce. They had been divorced a year before I had landed in Middle Earth.

"I'm sorry." Legolas said.

"Not you fault, you can't stop things like that." I mumble.

"What happened to your mother?" he asks. Plausible explanation?

"Orcs" I say and look to the ground. They were all alive and well, or at least, I hoped they were. It makes me sad to realize that I might never be able to see them again and they might always wonder what had happened to me. Heck I didn't even know what had happened to me!

"How did you end up with Gloiron?" Legolas asks.

"With small amount of luck and the will of a wizard." I reply.

"Wizard?" Legolas asks, surprised.

"Yeah, after the incident Gandalf was the first person to find me. He brought me over the Misty Mountains and took me Gloiron and I have been here ever since." Gandalf had found me just after he dropped Bilbo off at home and I became his new travel buddy for a few months.

"Do you know Gandalf well?"

"Not really considering I spent three months with him. He's very secretive. But he laughs a lot and tells good stories. He taught me a small bit of elvish and how to survive in the wild. He also brought me to Rivendell and introduced me to Radagast and Beorn before we went around Mirkwood."

"Radagast? Did you like him?" he asks me.

"Yes I did!" I exclaim. "He is the strangest most insane person I have ever met! And I had quite a few of those in my extended family."

Legolas laughs, he actually laughs. My heart stops. "You sound like a hobbit!" he laughs once more. Several girls in the area look over at Legolas with a dreamy look before giving me a nasty glare. I look at them and just shrug. I can't believe that I made Legolas laugh.

"Legolas" I say after he was done laughing "you have the nasty habit of making girls' hearts pound." I motion over to the girls giggling and trying to casually glance at Legolas.

"Do I make yours pound?" he smirks. My heart skips a beat.

"No.' I answer seriously.

' _You make it skip a beat'_ I add mentally before I walk on. Legolas follows and we talk about nonsensical stuff all the way back to Erebor.

 **Thanks to everyone who's read! The more followers I get, the faster I will update.**


	6. Chapter 6

**All rights belong to Tolkien. This story is currently being edited, so please excuse all of the inconsistencies and bad writing within the coming chapters.**

 **~Ch 6~**

Legolas continued stopping by for the next weak. I would open the forge, do business with a few dozen dwarfs that came by. Around noon Legolas comes by with some food and then we'd have lunch together. It was really nice.

Today was no different than any of the others. Legolas came by with cheese, bread, and peaches. We eat and talked about Rivendell.

"What was your favorite part of Rivendell" Legolas inquires. I have to think for a moment. There were so many things: The stars seemed so much brighter. The music the elves were playing. Walking in the gardens. The library.

"I…don't have a favorite part, I loved the entire experience. The whole air to Rivendell is peaceful and when you leave you feel younger and joyful." I answer.

"It is the magic that Lord Elrond wields, he keeps the evils of the world away from the sanctuary he's created. I wish Mirkwood was like that again." He sighs and gazes at the wall.

"It was called the Great Greenwood right?" I ask, Legolas nods.

"Yes, once you could gaze upon the stars from under the trees, now, webs darken the forest and block the view of the stars."

"I'm sure the evil that's taken over Mirkwood will be destroyed within the next hundred years." I smile knowingly.

"I doubt that, unless my father leads a siege to Dol Guldor it will forever be known as Mirkwood."

' _You'd be surprised.'_ I think to myself.

"Don't doubt your father just yet, he may stubborn and pigheaded at times, but when it comes down to it I'm sure he will do what is necessary, just like he did in the Battle of the Five Armies." I try to assure my friend.

"At the urging of a wizard and the promise of treasure." Legolas reminds me.

"Yes, that's true." I agree "Doesn't he love Mirkwood just as much as you, if not more so?"

"Yes" Legolas answers.

"Then the cleansing of Mirkwood will be worth more than all the treasure in Erebor" I grin.

"You speak as though you know me" Says a cold and aloof voice. We both jump as Thranduil walks in. "Hi, Thranduil we were just talking about you" I chirp and Legolas does a dignified face palm.

"So I heard. Legolas, should you be loitering around with this…child? Or should you be getting ready for council being held in the next hour"

Legolas groans "I forgot about that"

"I can see that. Come, we must get you dressed." Thranduil flips his hair ever so savvily and walks back to wherever he came from.

"Dressed in what?" I ask. He looks fine in his blue silk tunic and brown leggings that cling to his muscles ever so…wait what? I shake my head, he looks royal. What could he possibly change into that was appropriate, unless…he had to wear robes like his father and Elrond!

"The royal robes" Legolas cringes.

"You mean those dresses that your dad and Lord Elrond wear." I say. Legolas' eyes bug out.

"They…are not…dresses" he gasps, trying not to laugh.

"Well they're not very manly or practical" I tease. "Maybe you should just go in your armor with a tiara. You think that would be acceptable?"

"Princesses wear tiaras" he looks at me, confused. Oh Legolas, he doesn't understand my sarcasm or teasing yet.

"Never mind" I sigh. Legolas stands up and bows.

"Do you have to be so formal? You could just get up and say goodbye. It's not like I'll take offense." I say.

"I could not live with myself if I didn't treat you like the lady you are." I snort at him.

"I am so not a lady. Now go on to your meeting princeling." I wave my hand at him.

"I hate to argue with you, but you are a lady to me and nothing is ever going to change that _mellon nin_." Legolas walks out and my heart does a flutter.

"Mellon. I never would have thought I would befriend Legolas" I whisper to no one. And he called me a lady. I wasn't one, but that didn't stop my heart from dropping into my stomach.

What was happening to me? One week and I was being reduced to jelly at his smiles.

"Get a hold of yourself Caelinn." I scold myself. Legolas wasn't the only one who had somewhere to be, I have a party to attend. My coming of age party.

I wish Legolas could come, but he has a meeting, and I have only known him for a week and that is highly inappropriate here. I lock up the forge and go home.

I have to get bathed, my dress on, my hair done and a Middle Earth version of make up. I'm not looking forward to getting ready. But I am excited about the party, because parties mean cake. I had gotten Heidi two presents. The peppermints being one of them, and the other was a surprise.

After I had scrubbed myself clean and washed my hair I linger in the bath for a little while, think over my day.

I enjoy talking to Legolas, I will be sad when he leaves. I enjoy his friendship, but at the same time, I sometimes want to be more than friends.

I dunk myself into the water to wash away those thoughts. It didn't work, they were still there when I came up.

Someone knocks at the door.

"Caelinn. Are you done yet?" Eideth calls through the door.

"Yes, just give me a moment!" I stand up, making the water slosh in the tub. I quickly dry off and unlock the door. Eideth stood there with a navy blue and black dress with silver embroidery.

"You made that?" I stare at the dress. It was so beautiful.

"What do you think I've been doing for the last week?" She shoves the dress at me "Hurry up and get into it so I can do your hair." She turns and leaves me to get dressed.

When I put it on it doesn't scratch in uncomfortable places, such as the neck or underarms. It is a perfect fit. The sleeves reach down to my wrists, the skirt is floor length with dwarvish designs embroidered on the hem. The bodice fits like a glove. It has a plain square collar. There are no frills or jewels, it is a plain and simple design embellished with beautiful embroidery.

"Eideth" I step out of my room and into the hall. "It's beautiful" I gesture to the dress.

"Of course it is, it was made by me" Eideth snaps. "Turn around, lets have a look at you." I turn. "It flares out too much in the back. I should have remembered." She mumbles and tries to fix the back by tugging at it.

"Remember what?" I ask.

"That you have a big butt"

"It's not that big!" I protest. It was actually. My mom used to call me Bubble Butt and say it was so cute. I'e never liked my butt because my jeans never fit my waist.

"It is and you know it." Eideth snaps. She stops fussing over my skirt and looks up at me. Her eyes start to tear up.

"What?" I'm growing a bit concerned.

"When you first came here you were so shy and spooked at shadows. You looked like a little boy then with no breast and skinny as a stick. Now, you're a woman and we are introducing you into society."

"You could've waited another year you know" Eideth shakes her head

"We should have introduced you last year, but we didn't want to give you away after having you for little over a year." Eideth sniffles a bit before composing herself. I hug her and she doesn't push me away.

"Thank you for being here for me. I don't know where I'd be without you." I say.

"Probably in the Shire or traveling with Gandalf" she snorts before pulling back. "If you want to pay me back, then find a nice dwarf and have a few grand-babies for me to spoil."

"I will try to find a nice dwarf, but I don't promise anything. I might end up falling in love with a man or an elf even." _Like Legolas._ I think.

"I would advice against an elf. But a dwarf or a man I can live with" Eideth says gently before adding "And try not to spend anymore time with Legolas" _Oh she knew._ "He is dangerous"

"And Kili and Fili are not?" I ask. They were down right dangerous. Legolas was a different kind of dangerous. A very different kind. But either way I would not last more than two seconds in a fight with any of them. Maybe less than one.

"We can trust them, they are family and the nephews of our king"

"Legolas is the son of a king!" Eideth opens her mouth to argue, but she stops and swallows"

"I don't have time to argue, we need to do your hair and get you ready for the party" I nod and let her towel dry my hair. "You will have to learn to do your hair yourself." She says as she starts brushing my hair.

"I know, perhaps you could teach me when I'm not working" I suggest. Eideth grunts. "Gloiron had better get back soon, there is a lot of orders coming in lately." I comment.

"Oh yes, his specialty weapons." Eideth mumbles. "There are some dwarves coming tonight that I would like you to meet."

"Oh, and who are they?"

"The daughters of some of the Company."

"Why haven't I met them before? I didn't know any of them were married."

"If you had attended a few of the parties that I've gone to you would have met them a lot sooner." Edith says.

"Oh. Why do you want me to meet them now?" I ask.

"Dwarvish customs, your friends watch over you when you come of age. They make sure that your suiters behave."

"Ok, I will respect the customs of your people."

"Are we not your people?" I immediately regret my words. I turn to look at Eideth, she looks sad. She tried for the first year I was here to get me to call her mother. I didn't because I was so sure that I would be able to get home. Now…this was my home and my family. And I do love my new life.

"Yes, our people, Mother." I say and turn back so she can finish my hair, and pretend that I didn't see the tears creeping out of her eyes.

I am wearing a grown up hairstyle, a braided bun laced with silver and blue ribbons. I have a silver eye shadow on and pale red lipstick, ready to face the world.

Heidi had given me her present first so I could wear it at the party. It was a pair of black diamond earrings. I also gave Heidi one of her presents as well, the peppermints. I am saving the surprise present for later.

"Thank you Cayin! I love them, they're my favorite candy." She tackles me and then shoves one in her mouth before running off to show Milly her present.

There is a knock on the door. I answer it and find three dwarven girls on our doorstep. They are all dressed in their best.

"Hello girls" Eideth says. "This is my daughter Caelinn" she smiles as she says those words. "Caelinn this is Boadicea" she waves to the tallest dwarf with beautiful black hair. "Daughter of Bifur. Gertrude daughter of Bombur" she motions to the smiling girl with carrot orange hair and freckles. "And Opal daughter of Oin" I know Opal. She has yellow hair and pretty blue eyes. She is the shortest of the group. I had met her last year at a dinner party.

I notice that none of them have courtship braids in their beards.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you all" I curtsy. They curtsy back.

"Are you excited to finally be coming of age?" Gertrude asks.

"I guess, have you come of age yet?"

"No, Boadicea is the only one of us that's of age. She's eighty-two" Gertrude says.

"And how old are you two" I ask Gertrude and Opal.

"Seventy-seven, seventy-eight" They say together. Gertrude and Opal sit on the couches and the three of us start chatting away about different things we like and they start telling me stories of their misadventures over the years.

"So Prince Kili told us about that sword you forged" says Opal "Can we see it?"

"I left it at the forge, I'm going to remake it later."

"Oh, too bad, he was really impressed by it." Gertrude comments.

"Yeah I heard, but that didn't stop him from dubbing it Candle with his mom." I mumble.

"He called it what?" asks Boadicea. It was the first time she had spoken since she got here.

"He called it Candle because the tip was the only part that caught fire. Like a Candle" I explain. Boadicea laughs heartily.

"He didn't tell us that. He told us that you made a sword that caught fire." Gertrude. says

"He didn't?" I question.

Opal shakes her head "No he didn't tell us about that at all."

Again I didn't understand Kili he made fun of me whenever I was around, but behind my back he said nice things about me. Why? Was he trying to make it seem like he had cool friends or something?

There is a loud banging on the door. The party's about to begin. I have to great the guests and be a gracious host. Not hard to do because Gertrude and Opal are so much fun to talk to. Boadicea however, is another story.

Now on to the party, I smile and open the door for the first guests, friends of Heidi.

"Hello" the girls curtsy and scurry inside to see their friend.

 **The characters have taken over my computer! Thranduil wasn't even supposed to be in this chapter! What has the world come to? I am no longer in control of this story!**


	7. Chapter 7

**All rights belong to Tolkien. This story is currently being edited, so please excuse all of the inconsistencies and bad writing within the coming chapters. S** **hould she end up with Kili or Legolas. I only have seven more chapters to decide! Please vote!**

 **~Ch 7~**

The birthday party begins, I meet and greet so many dwarfs that they all begin to blur together and are immediately forgotten. Happy Birthday isn't sung, and there are no candles to be blown out. It is simply a large feast with a cake the size of an oven, to be cut after the celebration. The tradition is that the birthday person(s) would cut the first slice of cake. Which means that they could have half the cake if they wanted. Which is why the cake was so big.

The dances and games involve drinking games for children (which only involved juice or milk, thank god!), dance offs, and all other sorts of things. Dance offs are fun to watch. Dwarves dance something across between an Irish jig and Russian folk dancing. The surrounding crowed would stomp and clap to the beat.

It is tradition for the parents to dance at a coming of age party. But only Eideth is here. I thought that it wouldn't be possible until Glóin goes up to her and bows deeply. He brings her to the center of the room and the music starts.

It isn't a romantic dance, or a slow dance either. It is fast and energetic. Gloin twirls Eideth around and she shows surprising agility and speed for her age. They twirl and leap across the floor. Everyone stomps and claps to the beat.

Eideth is smiling and laughing and twirling, just having a good time. Gertrude comes to stand by me. She and Opal stay nearby me at all times, while Boadicea hangs back near the walls. I lean towards Gertrude.

"Is there a meaning behind this dance?" I ask. Gertrude nods her head and leans towards me.

"It signifies the joy the two have had in raising the child to adulthood. Glóiron should have been here to dance with Eideth, but he isn't, so the nearest male relative, which is Glóin, takes the responsibility of raising the child in his stead. He should technically be teaching you blacksmithing, but he can't teach you enchanted forging like Glóiron." Gertrude explains.

I would normally think that child rearing is long and toilsome. Especially for dwarves. But then again, children are a rarity amongst dwarves. Humans and hobbits breed like rabbits, so children are quite common and not really considered a blessing.

The dance finishes and Eideth's smile stretches from ear to ear. Glóin comes to me next and bows to me and holds out his hand. I curtsy and take hold of his outstretched hand. The father/male relative is supposed to dance with his daughter one last time before she officially becomes an adult.

The dance starts slow with something like a fox trot, Glóin slowly twirling me out and then back again. He holds both my hands and the fiddles started playing. We skip abut the room, moving with the beat. He twirls me out and I skip around him, dancing like a young girl.

Halfway through the dance the music begins to slow. I have danced my last dance as a child, now I will dance my first dance as an adult with a special man whom my family has approved of.

Someone taps me on the shoulder and Glóin bows deeply and leaves the dance circle. I turn to look at my new partner. My heart stops. He is half an inch taller than me with dark brown hair and warm brown eyes.

"Kíli" I breathe. He smiles devilishly and takes my hands and places my left on his shoulder and slides his right arm around my waist. The music starts slowly and then gradually speeds up, I have trouble placing my feet, it wasn't like my previous dance that had been fast and fun, this dance is elegant and hard. This was the dance that signifies that I am old enough for courting.

"You look lovely" he whispers to me. He is wearing the same colors as me, is it a coincidence? Yes, blue is the best color on me and I have a preference for silver, it is just a coincidence. I hope.

"We're wearing the same colors" I comment.

"I noticed, you're in my house colors." House colors? The house of Durin's colors were blue, black, and silver. I now have a feeling Eideth planned this. It isn't a coincidence. Darn that woman!

"Why are you giving me my first dance?"

"I was picked why else?" Kíli twirls me around.

"Why did she pick you?"

"Are you going to ruin your first dance as an adult by bickering with your partner?" he dips me before I can reply. Everyone around us gasps. Was this inappropriate? Kili brings me back up and continues dancing. I remember something from talking to Legolas. I smile sweetly.

"So Kíli" he smiles at me "Whose Tauriel?" that smile fades from his lips.

"Wh…who?" he stutters.

"The captain of the guard who imprisoned you. Legolas told me that you flirted with her."

"You can't trust an elf, Caelinn. How did you even meet him?"

"You mentioned Candle to him and he came to inspect it. He offered me some good advice on how to forge it better" Kíli's hand tightens on my waist, almost painfully.

"Kili, that hurts." His arm loosens.

"Sorry" he mumbles.

"I know you don't like elves, but Legolas can be trusted, and either way I'm still more interested in this Tauriel."

"It is nothing. Can we please talk about something else?" he asks as we complete the last few steps of the dance.

"The dance is over, we don't have to talk at all" I let go of his shoulder and try to step back, but he stops me and pulls me back towards him.

"I enjoyed our dance together" He kisses my knuckles and lets go of my hand before slipping into the crowd.

Gertrude pulls me back into the crowd, giggling. Near the front door she stops dragging me and turns around. "He dipped you." she gasps.

"Is that bad?"

"Yes and no, it is romantic, but not appropriate for an unmarried couple." Gertrude giggles.

"Caelinn!" Opal scurries over "Is he going to court you?"

"No, of course not" That stupid dwarf was going to get us in trouble with his impulsive actions.

"If he wasn't interested, then he wouldn't have dipped you" Boadicea walks over.

"Why would he be interested in me? He is always mean to me, and he makes fun of me. And then at times, he is sweet and attractive." I sigh. "I don't get him, he is as unpredictable as the weather."

"He likes you he just doesn't know how to show it" Opal says.

"He doesn't think that you'll accept him, he has no confidence." Boadicea explains.

"Excuse me, he shamelessly flirted with an elf, so don't say that he has no confidence. I beg to differ."

"Kili had nothing to loose with her. You on the other hand, you're different. You come from a respectable family, you are well versed in your trade, and-" I cut Boadicea off

"He's a prince. I am in trade, there is nothing going on, and there will never be anything going on because A) I don't think he likes me like that or at all, B) I want to focus on my trade, and C) I don't want to end up like Bella Swan."

"Whose Bella Swan?" asks Opal.

"A woman from a story called Twilight who fell in love with one man while another man was desperately in love with her."

"So who is it that you like?" Boadicea asks. She is smart.

"I doesn't matter, cause he's so out of reach, and no matter how hard I try to get his attention, I won't be able to do more than watch him from a distance." I sigh.

"That's so sad." Opal sighs. "Yet so romantic"

"Yeah, I'm pretty pathetic. So, would any of you like cake?"

Heidi and I cut the cake together. We put two slices on plates and I give Heidi the bigger slice. Once everyone has gotten their slice, it is time to open presents. I give mine to Heidi first. It is a very large box, almost as large as the cake.

Heidi takes the lid off and screams in joy "It's a cat!" She picks up the white fluff ball of a kitten and snuggle it. All of the other children come around to look at her new pet.

Dwarves love cats because they keep the rats away and goblins aren't too fond of them either.

It is time to open my present, only family and close friends gave gifts, so I only have three gifts in comparison to Heidi's twenty-five. I'm already wearing Heidi's gift to me so I have a gift from Eideth and another present left.

Edith's gift is a courtship bead. The bead is silver with an oval ruby set into the center of a celtic knot, the crest of my dwarvish family. I would keep it until I found my One and then I would exchange beads with him. I would wear this in my hair until I found him. This is a very traditional gift.

I thank Eideth and she weaves it into my hair as Heidi opens her next gift. She refuses to even put the cat down for a second.

She has named it Chalk. I would have named it Sparkle when I was her age, so I don't judge her choice in names. Her next gift was from Glóin, it is a toy axe. The boys in the area had better watch out, she has quite a temper.

I get to open my final present. The box was very large, the same size as the cake. Inside was a puppy! Everyone gasps. Dogs aren't very common pets down here, if anything they are extremely disliked.

I pick him up and cuddle him. He is still sleepy so he just looks up at me lazily and gives my hand a lick before snuggling into my arms, He is a white husky with black markings. He will be a gorgeous dog when he got older. There is a note attached to his collar.

 _I hope you like him, his name is Thunder. He'll watch over you when I can't._

Thunder, why would someone give such a sweet little thing a name like that? The puppy gives a small huff, it is deep and rumbly. Guess that answers my question.

I sit down near a corner and snuggle the puppy. Who had given him to me? It wasn't Glóiron was it? _He'll watch over you when I can't._ Why did I need to be watched over?

I look around the room, everyone is watching Heidi open up her next present. I catch Kili looking at me. It isn't just a casual looking either, he is studying me intensely. He turns away quickly when he realizes I am watching him too.

Was Boadicea right about him liking me? I think he is attractive, but I don't like how he treats me. If he acted a bit more like Legolas, I might find him more than attractive, but he wasn't Legolas, he was himself.

I don't know, and I'm not about to ask because I don't want to embarrass myself. Especially not in front of him.

 **Please vote, I'm having a hard time choosing between Kili and Legolas. Thanks to everyone who's read so far, I appreciate your time.**


	8. Chapter 8

**This story is currently being edited, so please excuse all of the inconsistencies and bad writing within the coming chapters.** **This chapter is just filler. You don't have to read unless you like dogs. All rights being to Tolkien.**

 **~Ch 8~**

"Why would someone give you a dog?" Milly asks.

"I don't know, but whoever gave me Thunder was very thoughtful. I've always wanted a dog" I say.

"Why would you want a nasty flea bag? You should drown it" Eideth declares.

"NO! He is sweet. Dogs are man's best friend. We get along well." I snuggle the big puppy who is wagging his tail and has his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

Eideth humps and goes over to Chalk who is curled up in a basket by the fire. She has pink bows on her ears, one around her neck, and another around her tail. She looks ridiculous. But at least she will have a good life here. Bowls of milk, plates of fish, and all the luxuries a cat could desire.

Thunder wiggles violently, trying to get out of my arms. I place him on the ground and he bounds over to Chalk and sniffs at her. Chalk's eyes open and she eyes Thunder warily. He sniffs around her basket and makes a 'humpf' sound. He doesn't like whatever it was he smelled. Probably fish.

Chalk sits up and Thunder goes to sniff her. He sniffs over her ears, her bows, then her feet. Thunder brings his head up and gives a small growl. That iss the final straw for Chalk. She swipes at his nose and sends him yelping. He runs around the room yelping before going to hide under my chair. I laugh at him.

Chalk sits there, licking her paw as though she had done nothing wrong.

"That's what you get for messing with a cat you stupid mutt!" Eideth snaps at the whimpering pip.

"He's not a mutt or stupid. He is a husky and he is a puppy. He's learning" I stand up and walk to my room to get changed. Thunder follows me.

I had let Thunder sleep on my bed for the last week. He is so sweet. After the party he seemed happy to follow me around. I had originally put him on the floor with a blanket, but he didn't stay there. He went up to my bed and tried to get up. He couldn't so he just sat there howling. I finally just put him on my bed and he snuggled on my pillow with me.

It wouldn't be that sweet when he got older. In the past week he must have gained five pounds. He was bigger than when I had gotten him. I couldn't carry him very well now.

I have to get up early and take Thunder outside the mountain to do his business. He also needed to be run around and played with. I grab a bone from the table on the way out of the house. Thunder trots along behind me.

Thunder is just like any dog, he stops to sniff at everything he finds interesting. But when I get more than ten feet away from him he comes bounding after me with his tongue hanging out. He is a happy go lucky puppy.

Outside I walk off the path and into the clearing surrounding the mountain. He runs around in circles and sniffs at every rock. Once in a while he will see a bird looking for worms and go chasing after it. His bark is so deep and rumbly it was like thunder. I can't imagine what it will be like when he gets older, probably deafening and scary.

I throw the bone for Thunder and he runs after it with his tongue hanging out. He tumbles over his own feet and goes sprawling. He is so clumsy right now, it's adorable. He gets right back up and runs to fetch the bone.

I have tried throwing sticks but he doesn't like them. Thunder comes trotting back with his head held high and bone in mouth. He looks very royal until he trips over a rock and face plants.

I laugh, he is a such a mess. But he is my mess and I love him. I take the bone from him as he tries to get off his back. He squiggles around trying to right himself.

He goes running around my feet once he gets up. I throw the bone for him.

I sigh and look around. The sun is almost completely up now. I look towards Erebor and see the guards on the battlements leaning over the wall. They had probably heard Thunder barking.

Feeling cheeky, I wave and they all go back to their positions. All except one. He has dark hair, I can't see his face from so far away. We had wandered at least half way to Dale by now.

I turn away and call Thunder back. He doesn't listen so I have to go chase after him. When I get two feet from him he runs away. He thought I was going to take his bone away. I chase after him and he runs even faster. He sprints around some bushes and I think I'd be smart and jump over them.

My foot catches on the bush and I fall down on my face. I laid there with my eyes closed. Something warm and wet drips on my cheek. I grab Thunder and he yelps. I 'wrestled' him and he licks my mouth.

"Ew!" I drop him and wipe off the slobber. "Just for that I'm leaving" I walk away from him and head back towards Erebor. The guards are leaning over the battlements again and watching us. I notice that the dark haired one wasn't there.

Thunder comes bounding after me with his bone. His head held high. He thinks that he has successfully managed to keep his bone from me.

"Oh you crazy dog" I sigh. I hope that the guards hadn't seen my face plant.

I don't want to go back inside, it is so nice out here. Maybe I would take Thunder later on and go hiking with him for a day.

 **Outofthisworldgal** : I agree with you. I love dogs, especially huskies, they're are so adorable.

 **xoulblade** : I am so glad you like this story! Thank you for following.

 **KHandFF7fanforever** : I'm also a die hard Legolas fan, but I agree with you that I like KilixOc for this story.

 **Sorry that this chapter was so short. The next chapter will be good though, I promise.**


	9. Chapter 9

**All rights belong to Tolkien. This story is currently being edited, so please excuse all of the inconsistencies and bad writing within the coming chapters.** **There is a fight seen in here!**

 **~Chapter 9~**

Thunder and I are heading down to the forge. The guards on the battlements are rotating shifts now and I get a few amused looks from the old guards. I assume that they had seen me face plant. Oh joy, it would soon be known all around the mountain that I was a klutz.

I decide to stop by Visha's to see how she is doing.

"Hi Visha!" I smile. Visha has her nose stuck in a book. Her hair is in a messy bun and her beard is unkempt. She looks tiered too. Something must be wrong. "Hey you ok?" I race to her side. She waves me off.

"I'm fine dear, just a little worn. I've spent the last week digging up some old maps and such in the library. The king seems to be interested in the lower mines and how deep they go and all that." she says, her accent much thicker than usual.

"Maybe you should take a break, you look awful" that earns me a glare.

"Ya think I don't know that? I've been up all night shuffling through coded manuscripts"

"Coded manuscripts? Why are they coded? They're just mines."

\- "Dwarves" Visha sniffs "like to keep even the unimportant details to themselves. It's very annoying to just about everyone" She shuffles through her notes some more and jots down a few words. "It's even more annoying when I have to decipher the code and it's in old dwarvish, then I have to translate that into Commons."

"Old dwarvish, you mean an old way of talking?" I ask.

"Yes, like: ye, yonder, maketh, etcetera" she mumbles.

"I feel sorry for you" I chuckle. "So I came by to ask if there you have anymore books on magic, ones with better instructions perhaps?"

"That is the only magic book available to me. Unless you get one in elvish, but those are kept by the elves. Most magic is taught orally, that's why your book is so rare. The instructions are vague, to be honest. But Glóiron somehow learned from it and he was very dense as a child."

"Really?" I ask, astonished. "I never would have guessed." Visha is the official expert on Glóiron, they had grown up together in both Erebor and the Blue Mountains.

"Aye he couldn't tell whether a dwarf lass was sweet on him or not."

"How many dwarf lasses were sweet on him?" I ask evilly.

"At least a dozen, but he only had eyes for one lass. She was a seamstress at the time, so the match would have been entirely imprudent. Eventually he got the courage to go and talk to her. He later on asked to court her and she said no."

"How'd he take it?"

"He kept asking her. And about two years later his persistence paid off. She finally accepted him, they got married and had a little girl."

"Eideth?!" my jaw drops. "She said 'no' for two years? She told me that she was hopelessly in love with Gloiron."

"Aye she was and still is, but she wanted to be sure that he loved her just as much because she had many admirers then, in fact they still admire her."

" **Sniff, sniff, sniiiiiiiif.** " Visha looks down, Thunder is smelling her skirts.

"And what is this thing?" She looks at me severely.

"Oh allow me to introduce Thunder, a present for my birthday." Visha's eyes widen.

"When was yer birthday?"

"About a week ago." She had forgotten.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry, I meant to come bu-"

"Visha, it's ok, it's just a birthday. It's not the end of the world. Just be there for my next birthday and all's forgiven." I smile and try to pick up Thunder. "Ugh!" I set him back down "Don't try to pick him up, he's heavy."

"Well, I've got work to do so ya best be going on. I have until tomorrow night to finish these." She sighs and rubs her temples.

"Right! Ok I'll see you later, come on Thunder." I hurry out so Visha can finish her work.

When we get to the forge I notice that there is a lot of noise below us. I look over the side of the walkway. The training platform is three levels below, so about eighty feet below us.

The guards are always training there, but today they seemed to be training even more than usual.

Someone pokes me. I jump. "Hi!" Gertrude greets me.

"Hey Gert, what's up?" She looks up.

"The ceiling?"

"No I mean what's going on, what have you been doing?" I explain.

"Looking for you." Gertrude and I have become very close in the last week. She often stops by the forge to say hi. I haven't seen Legolas since my birthday so I wonder where he is now. I look back down on the fighting guards.

"Is it just me or are they training more than usual. Like going faster and harder."

"They are, they're practicing for the tournament, Bekar Gelekh."

"What tournament" I ask. I hadn't heard anything about it.

"Right, you've only been her for two years. Well, every ten years we have a tournament and its to see who is the greatest warrior in our settlement. There are hundreds of dwarfs that participate. So to dwindle down that number we have a game that evenly divides the participants into five groups with a colored flag. And each group battles each other for the flags. The team that captures all the flags first is allowed to continue on to the second stage." Gertrude gestures a lot when she talks so I have to stay out of her personal space to keep from getting smacked.

"So the first part is basically Capture the Flag." I say.

"Yes, to put it bluntly."

"And how many participants are left for stage two?"

"Around a hundred, maybe a little over. Stage two will bring it down to fifty participants and stage three to fourteen. And stage four brings it down to seven. The tournament lasts for a whole week so it's treated as a holiday."

"What are the final stages?" I ask.

"They change the final two stages every year so no one really knows what to expect, except for the ball that happens the day after the winner is announced."

There is cheering below. We look over and see a blonde man and a dark headed dwarf circling each other. The man strikes swiftly. He is so graceful and controlled in his movements.

Wait, it was Legolas! But who is the dwarf he was fighting? I can't see because his back is towards me.

"Get him Kíli!" I hear a blond dwarf shout. It must have been Fíli, there weren't very many blonde dwarves in Middle Earth. Believe me, I've looked.

Kíli is fighting Legoals? Why? What the heck is going on around here?

"Hey Gertrude, are dwarves the only ones allowed to participate in these tournaments?" Gertrude nods.

"It is specifically a dwarvish holiday" she confirms.

Then why were they fighting? Was it an argument or a challenge? I hope it is just play fighting, if such a thing exists amongst males, otherwise Kili will be beaten to a pulp. I don't doubt Kíli's skill, but Legolas has centuries more experience than him.

Kíli is knocked to the ground and Legolas brings his sword down. Kíli moves out of the way just in time. He kicks the elf in the jaw and scrambles up.

Legolas wastes no time in attacking. He must be mad from that kick. He slashes, swipes, parries and exchanges blows with Kíli. Kíli can just keep up with Legolas. Legolas gets Kíli across the cheek, I can see that from here.

They don't stop! It should have stopped at first blood, that's the way duels went! Kíli keeps fighting and Legolas does the same. Kíli drops to the ground, narrowly avoiding a blow to his head. He rolls out of Legolas' reach and runs to a corner of the platform. I can't see Legolas' face, but I can see Kíli's now.

He doesn't look afraid, he looks angry and determined. Like defeat isn't an option. Whatever happened between them wasn't good then.

Legolas races towards him and Kíli kicks something at Legolas. Legolas trips on it, but doesn't fall, Kíli takes advantage of the elf's unbalanced form and rushes towards him. In moments he disarms Legolas, sending the elf's sword flying across the platform.

The dwarves begin cheering loudly. A lot of dwarves on the levels below us had stopped to watch the fight, and they are all clapping for their prince's victory.

"He did it" I breathe. I realize that my hands are clutching the railing so hard that my knuckles have turned white. I let go of the railing and rub my blood deprived fingers together.

"I can't believe he won" I say to Gertrude.

"What did you expect? He was trained by his uncle, and Thorin's the best swordsman there is."

"You've seen Thorin fight?" I walk back to the forge and Gertrude follows.

"yes, he's been the champion of Bekar Galekh the last few decades. And before him it was Dwalin, Balin's brother"

"Oh…" I wasn't expecting that.

 **So how was the fight seen? First time I've ever written one.**

 **Guest** : Thanks! Glad you like it!

 **Outofthisworldgal** : No I don't think it was Kili up there, just some nosy guard. The characters have hijacked this story so I don't know anymore.


	10. Chapter 10

**All rights belong to Tolkien. This story is currently being edited, so please excuse all of the inconsistencies and bad writing within the coming chapters.**

 **~Ch 10~**

Today is boring. Not a single customer all day. I have fiddled with a few easy spells, tidied up the forge, and played with Thunder. Thunder is now asleep under the table. He's bored too.

Sighing I look around the room for the millionth time. I sit at a low wooden table, covered in scratches and dents from years of use. Including the stool I'm sitting on, there are four stools surrounding the table. And on the table are two mugs.

On the wall to the left of the front door sits the stone fireplace. It stands taller than me. Attached to the fireplace is a bellows that is even taller than the fireplace. Various tools surround the fireplace are used for metal forging and stoking the fire.

In front of the fireplace are two anvils and slack tubs. Slack tubs are filled with water that we used to quench the metal.

Behind the anvils is another bench filled with more tools for the finer details. I don't mess with these often.

Next to the tool bench was a wall filled with weapons, jewelry and trinkets that Glóiron and I have made over the years. People often come in to buys these when he is here. Business tends to slow down when Glóiron isn't here. When he gets back there will be an overload of work. That would mean I'd have to rise early and work late.

A sharpening wheel stands next to the tool bench. Behind it is an old oaken door in the back wall next to the water barrels. It leads to a backroom that contains all our materials and leftover scraps.

I decide to go watch the training going on below. It was better than sitting here being bored.

On the platform I see Kíli and Fíli practicing. After the fight with Legolas a few days ago they had been fighting for at least four hours every day.

I watch them move and exchange blows. Today Kíli isn't vicious like he was in his fight with Legolas. Today he seems happy. But it is hard to tell from three floors above.

I suddenly feel envious of them. I don't even know how to use what I made. I want to learn how to use the weapons I make but Glóiron says it isn't proper for human girls to fight and that he is going to respect the beliefs of my race and blah, blah, blah.

The brothers stop fighting and stand there talking to each other. Fíli swings his sword around and tosses it from hand to hand while Kíli is relaxed and still. That is strange, usually they both are moving about. This is especially strange behavior Kíli, he can't sit still for more than two seconds.

Fíli suddenly looks up in my direction. He waves towards me. Kíli turns around to see who his brother is waving at.

Fili motions for me to come down. I shake my head and point to the forge. Fíli waves an "I got ya" and continues talking to Kíli.

I decide to go back inside and sweep again. I get the broom out and sweep up imaginary dirt from the floor, when I get to the table I have an idea.

I crouch down and slowly slide the broom towards Thunder. I poke his nose with the bristles and he sniffs, but doesn't move. I stick the bristles in his ear, he bats at his ear before shifting so he is laying on his back. I poke his belly. He doesn't move, so I begin to sweep at his face.

That gets him up. He pounces at the broom and I drag it out of his reach. He chases after the broom, growling and barking. I imagine him saying _"You evil thing, you woke me up! I'm going to make you pay! Come back here so I can bite you!_ " I run around the room with broom in hand as he chases after it.

This goes on for several minuets beforeThunder finally collapses on the floor from exhaustion. I laugh and inspect the broom. It is clear that we are going to need a new one. All the bristles have been pulled out and scattered across the floor. Now I really do need to sweep.

Someone knocks on the door before entering.

"Hello?" A dwarf asks. He has bright blue eyes and thick brown hair.

"Hi" I lean the broom against the wall. "What can I do for you today my good sir?"

"I need you to sharpen these." He pulls out two knives for me. They look like rectangles with a triangle stuck on the ends.

"Ok" He hands them over to me. They are very heavy for their size. I walk towards the sharpening wheel.

The dwarf looks very familiar, but I didn't know where I could have met him. He is looking about the forge and probably wondering why there were broom bristles all over the place.

I sharpen one knife and then the other.

"Here you go" I hand the knives back to him and he hands me my pay. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Yes, when will Lord Glóiron be back?" he asks.

"I don't know. Come back in a month and he may be here." I am getting tiered of people asking me that question.

"May?" The dwarf is looking me up and down. I am beginning to get very uncomfortable. Maybe I should stop wearing tank tops here.

"Yes may. He may be here, he may not, it depends upon how his business is going."

"What business?" Why is everyone asking me questions lately? I wonder.

"I don't know." I snap. "I don't know about anything outside this forge so I can't tell you anything. And asking me all these questions isn't going to get you answers. Ok?"

"I'm sorry" the dwarf mumbles. "I just wanted to ask him an important question."

"Is it business or personal? Business I can answer" The dwarf starts to get a bit pink the cheeks. Personal. "If it's personal I would direct you to Lady Eideth, my master's wife. She will be able to answer any questions that you may have." The dwarf bows.

"Thank you miss" He quickly runs out. I still think he looks very familiar.

"Who was that?" I turn and se Kíli petting Thunder. Thunder is happy and wagging his tail. I didn't even hear him come in.

"A customer. I didn't hear you come in." Kili shrugs. I noticed that his left cheek is bandaged up. That was where Legolas had swiped at him.

"I came to ask if you wanted to practice with Fíli and me later."

"I can't. I gotta manage the forge, and I don't know how to use a sword so…"

"What!" Kili jumps up and disturbs Thunder. "You make weapons and you don't know how to fight?! How do you know if you weapons even work right?"

"They obviously work right cause I haven't gotten any complaints." I say.

"Still." Kili splutters, looking appalled at what he just learned. "That's it, Fíli and I are going to take over your instruction. Be ready by five tomorrow"

"Wait! Kíli Stop!" Kíli storms out the door before I could even ask 'What the heck?'. Five was way too early!

* * *

"Caelinn get up" Someone shakes me awake.

"Not yet, too early" I mumble. The covers ware ripped from my body and I get really cold. I don't care though, I am too tiered. I just want to go to sleep. "Ee'm soooo sleepay" I slur.

Splash! Cold water was dumped all over me. I shriek and jump out of bed. The shock of cold waking me up. Thunder is up too, he isn't affected by the cold like me. Geez I wish I had fur like him.

"Milly, what did I do to deserve that?" I ask the ginger dwarf.

"I needed to get you up. Get dressed, the boys are meeting you down for lessons." I huff. I should have known they we- splash! I'm drenched again.

"Blast you woman I am already awake!" I shout and stalk off towards the bathroom.

"That was for the attitude" Milly calls after me.

I quickly get dressed so Milly doesn't give me a third bath. So the boys had brought her into this too. I am going to stab them in the back first chance I get.

Thunder trots after me as we make our way to the sixth level. I have never been there before so I'm kinda worried about getting lost.

It is actually pretty easy to find our way. The lower levels are less complicated than the levels around the main floor.

"Hey you made it" Fíli says.

"Thought you'd never get here" Kíli grins.

"Well I had to come or risk getting another bucket of cold water dumped on my head."

Fíli snickers and Kíli smirks. The bandages on his cheek has been removed to reveal a very deep cut held together by three stitches.

"Catch!" Fíli tosses a sword to me. I flinch and it hits the ground to my left. It was still in it's scabbard. Kíli laughs and swings his sword around. I feel stupid.

"Show off" I mutter. He doesn't hear me. I pick up the sword and buckle it around my waist. I pull it out of its sheath and position my hands and feet.

"I thought you didn't know how to fight" Kíli says, clearly confused.

"I don't, I had to learn how to hold a sword to check it's balance." My legs are about shoulder width apart and I keep my body turned to the side so he doesn't have as much of a target. Kíli tilts his head and shrugs.

He strikes my sword. It flies out of my hands.

"Go get your sword" He points his blade to where mine had landed. I hadn't expected him to hit hard.

"Hold your sword firmly not ridged otherwise it will be knocked out of you hands" Fíli advises me. I nod and go back to face Kíli.

"Shouldn't you be teaching me some basic moves or something?" Kíli strikes at me again, but this time I am ready.

"This is test you ability. We all go through this on our first day." Fíli tells me. Kíli makes a swipe at my thigh and I just dodge it before tripping over Kíli's outstretched foot and falling on my butt.

"You cheated." I accuse Kíli. He smiles.

"All's fair in love and war. You need to pay attention to what I'm doing. Get up and face me." Serious Kili was not to be messed with, so I grudgingly obey him. Kili swipes at my thigh again and I deflect his blade.

"Good" he praises me. He makes another swipe at my chest. I jump out of the way and step over his outstretched foot. "See you're learning." Kili smiles at me. "Now we can do some basic moves."

"What was all that? I thought you were assessing my ability or something." I jabber.

"I was, and you learn your lesson quick. Now take this stance."

He bends his knees slightly and places the sword in front of him. He steps forward and swings his arms down to the right and then repeats the motion to the left

"This will repeal blows to the legs." he explains. I begin to mimick his movement.

"You're holding your blade too tightly." He says. He goes behind me and takes my hands in his. His hands are rough and calloused, unlike mine. Eideth makes me use lotion so my hands won't toughen up. Kili squeezes my hands.

"If you hold it too tightly it will be knocked out of your hands. You need to hold it a bit looser so your wrist remains flexible and can take a hit. Like a tree, it bends so it won't break in the wind. Understand?" I nod. He was so close to me, and his hands are placed around mine. They look so small inside his. My heart is pounding against my chest. He moves away from me and goes to stand in front of me.

"Try that move again." I let out a breath and prepare to repeat the motion. He swipes at my thighs as I repeat the motion. I deflected both of his hits!

"Good" he praises me.

"What were you and Legolas fighting about?" I ask. That question has been bugging me for a while. He looks surprised.

"When?" he asks.

"A few days ago, I saw you two fighting, you kicked something under his feet and he tripped." Kíli laughs.

"Yeah I did. We just had a misunderstanding. Nothing to worry about"

"Didn't look like nothing. Does your cheek still hurt?" I ask. He brushes me off.

"Nah, I'm alright. It's just a scratch."

"You have stitches." I remind him.

"Mum overreacted."

"Sure she did." I roll my eyes at him. He smirks at me before we continued with practice.

* * *

 **xoulblade** & **Outofthisworldgal** : I'm glad you liked it, there will be plenty of fights in the coming chapters.

 **Silversun XD** : Thanks!

 **TheRealTayler13** : I will try to update as much as I can. I still have 35 more chapters to go. (faints)

 **I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Thanks to everyone who's read, I appreciate your support!**


	11. Chapter 11

**All rights belong to Tolkien. WARNING: This chapter may be a little far fetched.**

I hurt all over. Kili had been dragging me out to train with him and Fili for the last week. My butt hurt, my legs, my and arms, my back, and all the bruises that they had given me. I wasn't always fast enough to dodge their blows, so they had to twist their blades to the side so I wouldn't get cut. The result was big purple bruises on my legs, and stomach. The princes were not my favorite people right now.

I groaned and collapsed on my bed. Kili would come by to get me at 4:30 tomorrow so I had to be 'well rested' as he put it. That's why I was going to bed at 8 tonight.

I snuggled under my covers and Thunder tried to sleep on my pillow. He was too big to sleep by my head now, his head reached mid thigh now. Grunting I shoved him down to my feet.

As soon as I had resnuggled under my blankets I fell asleep.

* * *

"Get up, hurry!" Some yanked me out of bed. My arm was nearly ripped from its socket.

"Ow!" I pushed Kili away from me and cradled my shoulder. "That hurt Ki-ughf!" Clothes flew into my face.

"Hurry up and get dressed we gotta go!" Kili was practically frantic.

"What's the rush?" Kili threw his hands up in exasperation and stomped towards me.

"Get get away I can dress myself!" I pushed Kili out of my room and slammed the door shut. "Man what is his problem today?" I asked Thunder. He paid no attention to me as I got dressed. "You're still asleep aren't you" Not a peep out of the husky pup. "Some guard dog you are." I rolled my eyes and opened the door. Kili was there and yanked me out of the house and down the stairs before I knew what was happening.

"Kili! What the heck is wrong with you?" I stumbled down the stairs after him.

"This is the last day for the next week that I will be able to spar you, I want to make it count." He said over his shoulder.

"That's what this is about! You yank me out of bed and act like it's the end of the world. when you actually just want to fight with me!" I shouted at him all the way downstairs. I got a few strange looks from some early rising dwarves, but I didn't care. I was too pissed off with the dwarf in front of me to care.

At the training platform, Kili finally let me go and threw a sword at me. "Put your sword on" I buckled it onto my belt and took off my jacket. I had taken to wearing tunics instead of tank tops after that last dwarf with the bright blue eyes came by.

I got serious Kili today. That was never a good way to start off the day. I unsheathed the sword and took my stance. Kili attacked. I dodged, slashed and parried with him, never once stoping to think what I was doing.

Kili was ruthless today. He was pushing me to the edge of my ability. Within a minute I had sweat dripping down my face. He kept coming.

I began to pant as I blocked a blow to my head. My arms began to ache and my legs felt like lead. I wouldn't be able to keep this up.

I tripped over my feet. Kili brought his sword down. I rolled out of the way. I needed to end this, quickly. But what could I do? He was too much for me. I had only been fighting for the last week! He had years more experience than me!

More experience? I slashed at Kili. Legolas! That was it! I had an idea.

I ran to the corner of the platform with all the rubble in it and waited. Kili ran towards me and I kicked a large stone under his feet. He tripped and tried to steady himself I took advantage of his teetering form and knocked the sword out of his hands, and kicked him to the ground.

"Agh!" He groaned and held his head. I threw down my sword and walked around him towards the water barrels. I was beat. I drank a whole mug of water and turned back to face Kili.

He was standing now, he looked pretty pissed. "You…" he breathed "You copied me"

I smiled "Yes, yes I did." His eyebrow quirked up and he burst out laughing. I giggled along with him. That was the happy Kili I knew. He had tears running down his face when he sobered.

"I wasn't expecting that. Well played my Lady" He bowed gallantly to me. I curtsied clumsily and giggled.

"I did learn from the best" I said. Kili stood straighter and puffed out his chest. I laughed and punched him in his chest.

"Agh" He breathed out "You'll pay for that" an evil look invaded his eyes. I was in for it big time. I had left my sword on the platform. I was weaponless.

"I am unarmed, it is dishonorable to-" he lunged "ATTACK ME!" I shrieked and ran from him. He chased me across the platform. I put a table between us. I tried to make for my left, he made to his right.

I stood in the middle of the table, panting. Kili right across from me, he had a wicked smile on his face. I didn't like that smile, he was going to do something.

Kili jumped across the table. I shrieked and ran to my sword as fast as I could. Kili tackled me to the ground.

I struggled and lashed about. He tickled me.

"Stop" I laughed. "Kili!" I shrieked. I don't know how long he tickled me, but I couldn't breathe and it was beginning to hurt. I brought my hands to his sides and tickled him.

He yelled and jerked way from me. I lunged at him and kept tickling. I remembered what my human mom said about men being ticklish below their ribs.

I grinned and tickled there. He laughed even harder. His voice got all squeaky and squealy. He sounded like a girl!

I kept tickling him and he shrieked even louder. I finally got tiered of tickling him and backed off.

He continued laughing on the floor. I smiled at him. I stretched my arms out and laid down beside him.

"No one except my brother, mother, and uncle, have ever heard me laugh like that!" He coughed.

"Well no one else would dare to tickle the nephew of Thorin Oakenshield, the scary dwarf king under the mountain who never smiles." I sassed.

"He does smile, he just does it in private." Kili said.

"Oh yeah? What makes him smile?" I asked.

"Well besides tickling me with Fili" I stifled my laugh. "He smiles when we are all together, just us. And there was this one woman who made him smile all the time" I was even more interested now.

"What woman?" I sat up and looked at Kili.

"When we were on our way to Erebor, Gandalf brought a woman to accompany us. He said that her skills would be aid us on our quest." There was a woman on the quest? I had never heard of her.

"What was her name?" I asked.

"Her name was Sarah, and Uncle truly loved her." Kili sighed "Uncle doesn't like anyone to talk about her."

"Why?" Surely he would want to talk about the woman he fell in love with.

"She left right after we reclaimed Erebor. She said she'd be back, but she never did." Another sigh.

"Did you like her too?" I asked.

"Not in the way Uncle did, but I had hoped she would become our aunt. She kept me and Fili in line and…" he sat up " I have never seen anyone stand up to Uncle like she did, not even mum can get an apology from Uncle. She was an amazing woman and I would have been overjoyed if she and Uncle had married." The way he spoke about her made me sad that she wasn't here with them.

"Was she taller than him?" I asked.

"No, she was a bit shorter than you actually" Kili smiled wryly and gazed off into the distance.

"She must have been some woman if Thorin had fallen in love with her." Kili hummed in agreement. "Hey we should continue sparing, people will be coming to train soon and we want to be well on our way by then." I stood up and offered him my hand. He took it and I pulled him up.

"You know I should have been the one to offer you my hand" He said.

"Yeah well I beat you to it, so just deal with it." I grinned and walked off to get my sword.

"Will you be watching the tournament tomorrow?" Kili asked me.

"Yes! I wouldn't miss it for the world " I turned back to him, he had a black smudge on his nose. I laughed and reached up to wipe it away. He jerked away from my hand "I'm just wiping a smudge off! I'm not gonna yank your nose off." He smiled and let me rub the dirt off. He had some dirt on his cheek so I wiped that off too. I looked up at his eyes. They were a warm brown color.

Kili's hand grasped mine, which was still on his cheek. I stopped breathing.

"Caelinn!" We jumped and I stepped away from Kili. I looked to the noise and saw Boadicea standing on a walkway above us.

"Hi!" I called back. She didn't look too happy. Then again, it was about 5:30 in the morning. She walked towards the stairway that led to the platform.

"We'll continue sparring. You've gotten a lot better." Kili commented.

"Yeah I don't keep knocking my sword out of my hands." I agreed. "So where's Fili?" I asked.

"He is probably still in bed" Kili took his stance and we exchanged a few blows.

"Why didn't you get him up?" I asked. It was very unlike Kili not to annoy his brother every chance he got.

"He's is in Dale and probably hungover" I swiped at his head. He ducked and returned the blow.

"Why is he in Dale? Oh!" I jumped away from Kili's blade. He nearly took my ear off.

"We went to a pub in Dale last night and I came back alone."

"What?" Kili knocked my sword away. "Ow…" that hurt my hand. If he was in Dale, drunk, that meant… Realization must have shown on my face. Kili shrugged.

"It happens sometimes." he said. I gasped.

"You mean to tell me, that he is probably sleeping with some girl right now?" I asked.

"Yes." He sighed.

"I always thought he was the responsible one, I never thought he would…you know" I said and gestured with my hands.

"I know very well. It would normally be me, but I…I just…I don't know. I just don't want to sleep with women I'll never see again. I want to find my One." Mature Kili, now I had seen everything. This was now the weirdest conversation I had ever had, and that is saying a lot cause one time I was talking to a guy about which was better: tampons or pads.

"Well I hope you find your One" I said suddenly.

"Me too" he said. He swung his sword around. "I think that's enough for today." he bowed and left me standing there, watching his retreating form. He had a really nice butt. Whoa! Where did that come from?

"This is turning out to be a very strange day" I said to myself. I was just checking out Kili's butt! Boadicea was standing by the water barrels so I went to see what she wanted.

Boadicea and I didn't like each other, end of story.

"Hi" I said. "What you doing here?"

"Greetings, Lady Eideth sent me to keep an eye on you" she replied stiffly. Someone had a stick up her butt this morning. "How was your spar?"

"It went well, ended in a tickle fight so everything's good." I picked up my mug and drank deeply. I was parched.

"A tickle fight? You know that it is not appropriate for men and women to touch if they are not married or related." I ignored her and drank some more water. "You should be a bit more prudent, Caelinn. He is a prince and you are putting your reputation at stake."

"How is his being a prince putting my reputation at stake? We were just sparring." I insisted.

"Because everybody gossips about the nobles and the royal family especially. Your name will be well known throughout all of Erebor, and possibly in the Iron Hills if you are not careful"

"Duly noted." I mumbled into my mug.

"Although since he is very interested in you, I do not think you should have to worry about your reputation." Boadicea said thoughtfully.

"He's interested in me?" My stomach felt bubbly all the sudden.

"Yes, did you not know? Are you not interested as well?" Boadicea asked.

"No, I'm not, and, I didn't. Why do you think that?" I breathed. Kili did make me feel self conscious, but I didn't understand him. He's hot and he's cold, then he's yes and he's no. He was just so hard for me to understand because my people skills are not that great to begin with.

"He looks at you often when you are near, he talks about you when you are not around. He even takes the time to teach you swordplay. If I did not know better I would say that he is smitten with you and is unsure if you return his affections."

"But he's usually really mean to me, this last week he has been a completely different person. But why would he usually be mean to me if he liked me?" I asked.

"He is unsure if you will reject him, or is probably intimidated by you." she said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Me?" I snorted "Yeah lil' ol' me intimidates the dwarf who fought against Smaug and participated in the Battle of the Five Armies. You are coo coo" I waved my finger in a circle next my temple.

"I am not…coo coo." she said distastefully. "And I am not wrong of his feelings for you either."

"How would you know? Do you even know Kili that well? Cause I sure as hell don't and I see him nearly every day now."

"If you do not believe me, then go ask Lady Eideth." Boadicea turned on her heal and walked away.

"I will ask her, and by the way, she is my mother. Not just Lady Eideth."

The nerve of that girl. She was nearly as bad as Thranduil. My life was way too weird.

If I ever had kids I would certainly have a few tales to tell them. How I had a small crush on Legolas, that I met Thranduil, traveled with Gandalf, and I knew the princes of Erebor all in my youth. Wow! I had met more Middle Earth celebrities in two years than most people would in their whole lives.

I ran up stairs to ask Eideth if Kili did like me. I didn't believe Boadicea. Climbing the steps three at a time my heart pounded. Kili liked me?

I ran home and burst inside. I was nearly six in the morning but Eideth was up and busy with Milly, planning the meals for the next week.

"Mother!" I ran to Eideth and panted. "Boadicea said that Kili might like me. I didn't believe her, is it true?" I asked.

"You might want to sit down first." Milly said. I plopped down on the bench and waited for their explanation.

"Kili doesn't like you." Eideth said. I sighed in relief. There was nothing between us. I was a little disappointed, but I knew I wasn't ready for a relationship. "He claims to be in love with you and has asked my permission to court you." My mouth dropped. "I told him that I approved, but he would have to ask Gloiron when he got back, as he is both your master and guardian."

"Wha, what?" I spluttered. He didn't like me, he wanted to marry me? "I hardly know him, and he is a prince, I am a blacksmith's apprentice!"

"And the daughter of a noble, since Gloiron is legally your guardian. The match is completely prudent." Milly said quickly.

"Fine, whatever. But Kili?" I gasped and leaned against the table. There was no way. "I don't even know what to think." I said. Eideth patted my leg.

 **I am thinking about doing a few chapters in Kili's POV. What does everyone think of that? Was this chapter weird or over the top?**


	12. Chapter 12

**All rights belong to Tolkien, except for the characters I own. This chapter contains Kíli's POV!**

 **~Chapter 12~**

 _Caelinn's POV_

The first stage of the tournament is today. Eideth has me wearing my best dress and teaches me how to braid my hair. I can do it well enough on my own now that she doesn't need to supervise my braiding.

I'm wearing a lilac dress with a square collar and tight sleeves. This dress itches around the wrists and is too tight around my waist. When it comes to my hair I groan. It's so wavy that I have trouble getting it to do anything. I never know how Eideth manages to tame my hair.

I finally get my hair in a braided bun and place several jeweled lilac flowers with pearls for centers in my hair. I think it looks rather nice, even with some curly strands hanging in front of my eyes.

My hair is naturally curly, and now it's grown down to my waist it's become wavy and only curls at the ends.

Feeling ready to face the day I head outside Erebor with my little family.

"Cayin, up, up!" Heidi raises her arms up and stands up on her tip toes.

"Ok, but just until we get there" I whisper to her. Edith doesn't like me to carry Heidi because she os very protective of her. Heidi is five years old now and looks like a two year old. I pick her up and put her on my back. "Don't mess up my hair" I whisper to her.

I add a slight bounce to my step to bounce Heidi around. She giggles quietly as we make our way outside Erebor.

Today is cloudy and windy. Outside is the Middle Earth version of bleachers, tall stones that have been carved into benches There is canvas hanging over the bleachers to protect viewers from both sun and rain. And today it looks like it will be the latter. The sky is darkening and the wind has picked up a bit. I spy a head of carrot orange hair in the crowd.

"Hey Gertrude!" Gert turns and runs towards me giving me a quick hug.

"So we heard that Kili is planning to court you" she says.

"Don't remind me" I groan.

"What don't you think he's cute" Gert blushes. I think she has a small crush on Kili.

"I don't know what to think. Honestly I would just like to talk to him and…" I struggle for words. "I just want to get to know him some more. I've only really known him for the last year, and only started talking to him on a regular basis for the last month."

"But he's a prince, you should just accept his hand and then get to know him." says someone else.

"Hi Opal. No, I'm not going to just marry someone for position, I'm going to marry for love" I say.

"Good luck with that, not very many people get to choose who they marry" Gert says.

"Yeah well I'm gonna be one of them. I am determined that nothing but the deepest love could ever induce me into matrimony." I quote Pride and Prejudice.

"You should be a poet" Opal says, making me laugh.

"I didn't write that line." I admit.

"But that was so insightful and intense. We should all adopt your philosophy." Gert jokes.

"I wouldn't suggest it otherwise you'll all end up as old maids." We laugh, climbing our way to the top of the bleachers.

"So explain to me how this is supposed to go again" I tell Gert.

"Well there are five separate armies under a colored flag. This year we have blue, black, red, white, and yellow. Each group has four flags on a pole somewhere in their territory. One for each opposing team. The flags have been hidden and their locations are known only by those who put them there."

"So the point of this game is to eliminate four teams." I confirm.

"Aye, this game is all about strategy. This is more of a grown up version of a war game our children play"

"Ok, got ya. And the goal is to collect a single flag from each team right?"

"Aye" Gert says. I look out onto the battlefield. Trees have grown in the past two years, mostly pines. Pines grow very fast and can reach up to 50 feet in 10 years. They are very tall now and it now looks like a small forest around the mountain.

It is a perfect place for capture the flag.

"So when does it begin?" I ask as I bounce Heidi on my lap.

"In about an hour." Opal says. I look out into the crowd and catch sight of Fíli. If anyone knows Kíli well enough to tell me why he wants to court me, it would be Fíli…or Dis. But I'm not about to ask her, she can be pretty scary at times.

I place Heidi of Eideth's lap and tell everyone I'd be back. I race down the bleachers and past the venders that are selling pies, trinkets, and food in general. Dwarves loved food more than Hobbits at times. Weaving in and out of the crowd to where I last saw Fíli.

I see him talking to a man, Bard, I realize. He is the Lord of Dale, and he was every bit as rugged as Luke Evans. Blah!

"Fíli!" I call on my way over. Bard bows to Fíli and then leaves. Fíli turns to talk to me. "Hi, I didn't see you yesterday." I say.

"I was in Dale on some business" He says quickly.

'Sure Fíli, on 'business' I think to myself.

"Fíli, Eideth told me that Kíli asked to court me." Fíli stiffens. "Any particular reason why?" I ask. Fíli pales.

"Look, Caelinn, you're just going to have to talk with him. I am staying out of this entirely, relationships aren't really my thing"

"Yeah one night stands are" I agree.

"A what?" He asks. Right, that term doesn't exist here, but I'm pretty sure he gets the gist of what I mean when he blushes. "Never mind" he mutters. "But you should talk to Kíli."

"I intend to." I say. A horn blasts nearby.

"I got to go Caelinn" He bows to me.

"Good luck" I give him a quick hug before he runs off. I go back to my friends and family.

 _Kíli's POV_

I see Caelinn give Fíli a hug. I stiffen as my hands clinch against my sides.

I watch Caelinn run off. She looks beautiful in that dress today. Lady Eideth must of had a hand in picking it. She always puts Caelinn in the most flattering dresses. Anything that brings out her green eyes or accentuates her figure.

"Kíli, we gotta go!" Fíli pounds me on the back.

"Right" I grumble.

"What's the matter with you?" Fíli asks "Aren't you excited to kick some ass?"

"Caelinn hugged you." I say. Fíli sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"She just wished me luck. And you need to talk to her. Edith told her that you asked to court her." I swear under my breath."Instead of focusing on your lady issues, lets get your head in the battle so we can win it. When we win, you can deal with Caelinn." Fíli reasons.

"You're right, as usual" I sigh and look at the sky. "It looks like it's going to rain. Hard. Think we can use that to our advantage?" My brother looks at the sky and scrunches his nose. He hates getting caught in the rain.

"We might be able to use it as a screen." Fíli says. "But that depends on wether or not it comes down."

"It'll come down" I says confidently. The wind was blowing from the east, that means rain is coming. Rain from the east, and snow from the north, that's what Uncle told me.

We stand in front the raised platform that royalty will watch the tournament from. Banners of blue, black and gold hang behind Uncle. He's wearing the crown that our great grandfather once wore. It looks rather odd on him, he looks like he has golden horns. But Fíli and I will never tell him that, at least not to his face.

Uncle stands up from his chair, raising cheers from the crowd. He raises his hands to settle the crowd. They all silent at his beckoning. People respect Uncle and Fili. No one respects me because I'm not Uncle's heir.

"Dwarves of Erebor" Uncle says, cheers from them, "Of the Iron Hills!" cheers from Dain's folk. "Of the Blue Mountains!" cheers from them "Men from Dale and Laketown!" cheers from the Men. "Welcome to the first Bekar-Gelekh of Erebor!" The crowd erupts into cheers. "Everyone here knows the rules, but I shall list them for our guests." He gestures towards Bard who sits on his left.

"1)Each army may only claim a single flag from each opposing army.

2) The flags must be prominently displayed and can have no more than five guards.

3) Guards aren't allowed to stand within ten yards of the flag.

4) Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged.

5) Killing or maiming is NOT allowed."

"You have five minutes to hide your flags. Du-bekar!" Uncle shouts. (To arms!)

Fíli is handed five blue flags with a black anvil and hammer in the center. The largest of these flags will be placed at the top of our pole.

"Kíli lets go" Fili says. I run after him into the woods. The land in front of the mountain has been divided into five sections. We got the section across the river.

"Prince Fíli!" a dwarf calls after us. "What is our strategy?"

"Kíli and I discussed dividing our numbers into groups of five. That leaves us with twenty battalions. Here!" Fíli throws the flags into the dwarves hands "Place these on our pole and then find Gimli, son of Gloin."

"Yes your highness." I smirk at the dwarf as he scurries away.

"Kíli?" Fíli calls to me.

"Yes you highness what can I do for you?" I mock bow to Fíli.

"Kíli! This is no time for games. What is your plan?" I sober and stand straight.

"I plan on taking two battalions of dwarves. We'll go scout out the other territories and capture the flags without alerting the guards. It should take us anywhere from an hour to three to capture all the flags" I finish.

"Who were you thinking of taking?" Fíli asks.

"I was thinking of Dwalin, Nori, Bifur, and Gimli"

"Is that all?"

"No there are four guards from the border patrol that I think would do well. I need you to engage Yellow so we can sneak through undetected." I explain.

"Fine, I'll round up the troops." Fíli runs off to command the troops.

Watching Fíli leave I remember playing this game as children. Even after all these years I still come up with all the plans.

Fíli is smart, but he isn't creative like me. I rely on my instincts and experiences.

But he has something about him that I don't. Fíli commands respect from people and they are willing to follow him to the ends of the world.

I sometimes wish people would respect me instantly like they do my brother. I'm constantly having to prove myself capable of leading troops.

The only people who respect me, to a degree, are close friends and family. People who know me well.

"Whoooowhoohuuuuuum!" The horn blows to signal that our five minuets are up.

"So it begins" I say. "Dwalin, you're in command of the second battalion, Bifur, you go with him." I point to Dwalin. "Gimli, Nori you two with me. Nori I will need you to scout ahead of us." "Right" he says.

" Farin" I look to a dwarf with pale blonde hair. "Mim" I address another dwarf from the border patrol "You're both with me. Nain, Ake" I turn to two dwarves with thick black hair "You go with Dwalin, make sure he doesn't kill anyone"

"Yes your highness" They say and bow together before going to join Dwalin's group.

"Alright, lets go win this tournament." I motion for Dwalin to follow me and we march through the woods into Yellow's territory.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry to everyone who likes Luke Evans but Caelinn has her own opinions too. To be honest I think he's dreamy (sigh)** **. Don't tell anyone ;) I will update as soon as I can!**

 **watergoddesskasey** : Thanks!

 **Silversun XD** : Your wish is my command!

 **Outofthisworldgal** : Gloiron will come home soon with a surprise guest.

 **xoulblade** : I'm glad you like this so far!


	13. Chapter 13

**All rights belong to Tolkien. If this chapter is confusing/boring, let me know and I'll rewrite it. Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to read this far!**

* * *

Kili's POV

We were on the borders of Yellow. I signed to Dwalin using iglishmêk. " _Nori's scouting ahead. The all clear is hooting twice like a barn owl, once like a screech owl. "_

 _"_ _Got it"_ Dwalin signed back.

"Scraaay, Scraaay, hoohoohoo" rang through the trees.

" _That's it_ " I signed " _Let's go_ " We quietly made our way through the trees. We found Nori a little ways ahead.

"Flags are that way _"_ He pointed to our left.

" _Any guards?"_ I signed. I wasn't about to blow our cover like Nori. He was too cocky, and that's coming from me!

"Three, they're circling the flag. Takes about one minute to do a round. There's only one spot they can view the flags from. At most we have a twenty second opening in the watch."

"Fili should be distracting them any moment now" I whispered. " _Wait for it"_ I signed.

Battle cries disturbed the quiet and metal clashed. " _Go" I signed._ We snuck through the trees and came saw the clearing ahead. I pointed to Farin and motioned for him to come with me. I pointed to Bifur and then motioned to the guard coming our way.

Bifur grinned and brought out his axe. He crept behind a tree and waited for the guard to pass. He struck the dwarf's head and dragged him under the bushes.

" _Go!"_ I signed. Farin and I ran to the flag pole and sliced a low hanging flag off. Yellow now had three flags left.

We ran all the way to Blue territory. "We did it!" Gimli shouted. "That was easy. I was expecting it to be hard." he finished.

"It won't be easy for the others." Dwalin said. "That was a poor strategy."

"Aye, Red will be the hardest yet" Farin said. "Thorin III, son of Dain leads them." I groaned. This was going to be difficult. Thorin was ruthless and intelligent. In order to beat him we'd have to be smart.

"We'll save Red for last." I said. "We'll go after Black next. Fili should be retreating any moment."

"Kili, what's your plan for Red?" Farin asked.

"Red is over towards Dale. Chances are high that they'll have a watchman in the city." Mim said. I looked up to the sky and hoped that it would rain soon, we could use that for Red. Bifur grunted something in Dwarvish.

"Sorry Bifur, I didn't catch that" I said.

"He said he has someone checking into it." Nain said.

"Good, lets take care of Black and White and then go conquer Red!" I said with confidence. I honestly didn't feel confident in confronting Red.

* * *

Caelinn's POV

The tournament wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be. I didn't see many of the battles or the tactics used. All I heard was fighting. Every now and then there was a battle that appeared on the field in front of us. But for the most part I was bored.

Thunder wasn't bored though. He was chasing his tail and barking happily. Then he started digging in the dirt. I'd have to give him a bath if Eideth was ever to let him into the house again.

I bounced Heidi on my lap and made some small talk with a few dwarf women to pass the time.

"Gertrude, Opal…Caelinn, I need your help" Boadicea called to us. I placed Heidi down and raced after Gert and Opal.

"Hey what's up?" I asked Boadicea

"Is something wrong?" Gert asked.

"Did you get over-charged when you bought that pie?" Opal asked. We all ignored Opal, she was sweet don't get me wrong, just a bit clueless.

"No, we need to go to Dale. Red has watchmen there." Boadicea said.

"So? All's fair in love and war" I quoted Kili.

"Indeed, which is why we are going to get rid of them with Plan D." Boadicea said.

"Wait what?" I asked. "Get rid of them?"

"Yes!" Gertrude shrieked.

"I've always wanted to do this!" Opal squealed and dragged me after Boadicea and Gert who were running towards Dale with Thunder at their heels.

* * *

Kili's POV

We were nearing Red territory. There was an area between between Red and Blue that had no trees. If there were watchmen in Dale then they would see us the moment we stepped out of the trees.

A hawk flew onto Bofur's shoulder. It had a note attached to it's foot. Dwalin untied the note and read it. "It's from Bifur's daughter." He said "She says there are watchmen in Dale and that she and the girls will take care of them."

"What girls?" Farin asked. "She didn't ask her father to help?"

"Don't worry about Boadicea, she's smart." I said. I had full confidence in her. She could do anything she put her mind to, she even won a prank war with me and Fili a few years ago. "Just out of curiosity, does it say who she's working with?" I asked.

"Gertrude, Opal…" Dwalin said. " _Her lifelong allies_." I thought to myself. They were the reason she won the prank war. "As well as Caelinn and her dog" he finished. I looked up in surprise.

"Her pup's name is Thunder right?" Gimli asked.

"Yep, and he's gonna get huge." said Farin "Isn't that right Kili?" He looked at me with an eyebrow cocked. He had helped me pick Thunder out when he was smaller.

Unlike most dwaves, Farin, Uncle, and I are dog lovers. Fili likes them to a degree, but he still prefers cats.

"Yes, he's a husky. They get rather large." I commented. I wasn't going to admit what everyone suspected. At least while there wasn't any evidence.

"Oh so the little prince knows what type of dog it is." Dwalin teased.

"They're pretty common around the Iron Hills" I said, ignoring the warmth that spread across my face.

"They are." Nori agreed. "But I overheard someone asking about where they could get a dog a few weeks ago. He mentioned something about wanting it to be friendly, energetic, loyal, mischievous and as charming as him." By now everyone was looking at me. " _Damn that royal spy_!" I thought.

"What?" I asked. "I got her a dog that would remind her of me" I admitted. Everyone chuckled, except for Ori who passed Dwalin a sack of coins.

* * *

Caelinn's POV

"How long have you been doing this kinda stuff?" I asked Boadicea.

"Practically forever" she said. I shivered. I had always assumed that she'd be too prim and proper to do anything besides act like a stuck up lady. I was thanking my lucky stars that I was still alive, especially after I didn't believe her about Kili. She scared me.

Let me rephrase that: I am scared of all three of those girls. They are worse than Kili and Fili…period.

"Go" Boadicea whispered to Opal. Opal ran screaming to the twelve dwarves standing by the wall. She held her face and was making crying sounds.

"What's the matter?" One of them asked. He walked towards her and she stepped back.

"No, no, stay away, it's horrible!" she sobbed.

"Hey, hey it's ok." he patted her arm. "What happened?"

"He hurt me" she sobbed.

"Who did?" he demanded. The other dwarves were running towards her now. Dwarf women are valuable, and anyone who so much as looks at them wrong should beware.

"The white wolf" she whispered and looked, and revealing her 'bloodied' face. The dwarves stepped back. "He's coming for you" Opal said.

I threw a smoke bomb that Gertrude had mixed up and it exploded behind Opal. "Alright Thunder, bark" I commanded. His bark echoed throughout the city.

The smoke had now covered the entire wall and more was still coming. I could barely see ten feet in front of me.

A wolf figure appeared in under the arch opposite of us.

"Thunder," Boadicea whispered "howl" I threw flash flames around the wolf figure. Thunder howled again.

The dwarves cowered in fear when they realized Opal had disappeared. She was standing behind me giggling like a maniac.

Gertrude and Boadicea executed the last part of the plan.

The dwarves screamed. I made a note of it to never get on Boadicea's bad side.

* * *

Kili's POV

"Hey look up there!" Gimli pointed to the wall above us. It was covered in smoke.

"Boadicea" I said. That had to be her doing. Flashes of light emitted from the smoke. Screams of terror came from the wall.

"Remind me not to get on her bad side" Farin said with an impressed look.

"I'm already on it" I said regretfully. "Move out!" I called. I wasn't about to waste the opportunity Boadicea gave us. Even though Thorin had probably figured out our plan by now.

Dwalin and I quickly made our way to the flags.

There was no point in hiding. They knew we were here after Boadicea's little stunt on the wall.

We found all four flags left unguarded in a clearing. Something wasn't right.

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in" said a gruff voice with a thick accent. "Kili, son of Vili, little brother of my name sake's heir. And my life long foe" Thorn III walked out of the trees with his axes in hand. "Prepare to meet are maker" he growled.

"Death hits aren't allowed laddie" Dwalin growled.

"Nothing about accidents in the rule book" Thorin said with an evil chuckle. Dwalin and I both attacked him. He was more than capable of handling four dwarves at once.

Dwalin and I tried to stay out of each other's way, but we kept nearly decapitating each other.

Thorin laughed joyfully/evily and swung his axes at us and deflected our blades. We just had to distract him long enough for Nori to steal the flag. We ran behind Thorin to turn him away from the flags.

I slashed and blocked as fast as I could trying to keep his attention on us. I knocked one of Thorin's axes away and he stooped and grabbed up a large stone. Nori was a foot away from the flags. " _Just a little longer_ " I thought.

Thorin raised the stone, he was going to bring it down on me I thought. He turned and threw it at Nori! It bounced off Nori's head and he fell to the ground.

Dwalin attacked Thorin and was knocked to the ground in one swift movement. Thorin bashed him on the head with the end of his axe, leaving him unconscious.

"Just you and me now, beardless runt" Thorin said, he retrieved his axe, his eyes never once leaving me.

He and I had been rivals since we met, on the training grounds and for Uncle's attention. He had always surpassed me in everything as a child. Now I was an adult, I was stronger and faster. I would win this fight. If it was the last thing I did…well perhaps not the last. I grinned, thinking about Caelinn.

The rain came down heavily. The ground beneath my feet became muddy. It would make this fight difficult to win. Thorin relied mostly on his strength, wrestling him to the ground wasn't an option.

I charged. My blade collided with one of his axes. He swiped at my chest with the other. I jumped away and charged once again. The trick was avoiding his blows and hitting where I could.

This deadly dance went on like this: slash, dodge, jump away, dodge, charge.

I knocked an axe out of his hand. Thorn bellowed and kicked me away. I slipped and fell into the mud.

Thorin had a large cut on the hand I knocked the axe out of. Thorin turned towards me. His eyes were red with rage.

He yelled and charged me with his axe.

I scrambled up and meet him. He would be easier to fight with one axe. Something stabbed my right arm.

I screamed and clutched my arm. Thorin held a long knife in his left hand. Rain dripped off it. He was smiling. He enjoyed my pain.

I would have to fight with my left arm. I switched hands and faced Thorin.

" _I need to distract him a little longer"_ I encouraged myself " _We've almost won!"_

I yelled and attacked him. I could keep up and I was getting cuts all over. I wouldn't last much longer. But I couldn't fail. Not now when we were so close to victory.

Thorin yelled and threw me into the mud. I was dizzy. I knew I was done for.

"Whoowhoohooo!" a horn sounded.

"What?!" Thorn screamed. He looked at the flag pole. All four flags were still there. "You cheated!" he accused me. I smirked.

"Look again Thorin" I said. Thorin looked back at the flags. He realized that one of them wasn't a flag.

"What did you do?" Thorin stomped over towards me. He dragged me up by my shirt "WHAT DID YOU DO!?" he shouted at me.

"What I had to" I said weakly. I kicked him square in the chest. I fell to the ground when he stumbled back.

"Why you little bas-"

"Clang!" Thorin fell to the ground. Dwaine stood behind him with his hammer still raised.

"Ya alright laddie?" Dwalin came over to me. "Looks like Gimli and Farin were able to switch the flag for me underwear."

Dwalin hoisted me up and I looked at the flag pole. Sure enough, Dwalin's pair of red underwear billowed in the wind. I reminded myself to thank those two later.

"Nori alright?" I asked. He was still lying where he fell. Dwalin grunted and grabbed my arm to steady me. I had nearly fallen over.

"He should be alright, he's gotta thick skull." he said.

"Hey you're still alive!" shouted Fili. "Come on! Everyone's waiting to congratulate you!" Fili ran to my other side and helped me stand.

"I'm fine Dwalin. Go help Nori." Dwalin let go of my arm and went to check on the thief/spy. "So can we celebrate with some pie?" I asked Fili. He grinned.

"As long as we get some ale with it" he said.

"Agreed. Let's go get some well deserved blueberry pie."

"I was thinking more along the lines of red cherry." Fili said.

"I never want to hear the word red again!" I laughed as Fili led me back to Erebor.

 **Thanks for reading! PLEASE REVIEW!**

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 **crazehfreakbehungreh000** : I'm so glad you liked it!


	14. Chapter 14

**All rights belong to Tolkien. This chapter contains Sarah!**

We ran back to Erebor as fast as we could. We all separated to find our families. Gert went to find Bombur, Boadicea, to her Uncle Bifur, Opal and I went together to find Oin as he would probably be with Eideth and Gloinn. I saw Eideth and ran over to hug her.

"Where have you been, and are you all wet?" Eideth pushed me away.

"Sorry, we were helping the boys win. There were watchmen in Dale." I breathed. Eideth chuckled.

"So that's where you all went off too." Thunder stood by me and shook himself. Mud and water flew all over my dress.

"Thunder" I shrieked.

"He is not allowed into my house until he has been bathed!" Eideth declared.

"Fine" I sighed. My dress was ruined. I really liked this dress too. I decided to go find Kili and Fili to congratulate them. It wasn't that hard since they were ten feet away.

"Hey guys." I hugged Fili. "Congratulations." I went over to Kili to give him a hug but pulled back when I saw he was covered in mud. I'll give you a hug when you're not covered in mud" I said in response to his puppy dog eyes.

"Hey don't I get a hug too?" Gimli asked me. I gave him a tight hug. "Not so hard lassie, I can't breathe!" I complained. I laughed and rolled my eyes. He acted all mean and gruff, but he really did enjoy the attention.

I noticed Kili's arm had been bandaged with a shirt. "What happen to you arm?" I asked.

"Oh it's just a scratch" he said.

"It's all bloodied." I said. "You should get that bandaged properly"

"That's what I've been saying" interrupted Dis.

"Lady Dis" I greeted and curtsied.

"They go on a quest to kill a dragon, and when I see them again, they don't listen to a word I say" she sniffed.

"We're grown ups mum, we can make our own decisions" Fili insisted.

"But you'll always be my little boys, no matter how old you get" she said with a weak smile. "Caelinn, since he won't listen to me, how about you drag him by the ear and fix him up?" Dis asked me.

"You don't want to?" I asked.

"I don't really feel like doing it today" Dis sighed.

"Ok," I said slowly "Come on Kili, let's go bandage you up." I walked a few feet away and waited for Kili to follow. "We also need to talk" I said when we were a good distance away.

"Yeah, I know" Kili sighed.

Kili and I walked to my home in silence. There was so much I wanted to ask him, but this wasn't the time or place. There were too many people around and the last thing we needed was to be gossiped about.

Thunder trotted alongside Kili. Thunder seemed to be very fond of him.

"Kili?" I asked.

"Yeah?" _I don't want to get married, to anyone. I want to focus on my trade._ I wanted to say.

* * *

Kili's POV

 _"_ Why didn't you ask me? Why did you ask Eideth for permission to court me? Caelinn asked me. My hands grew sweaty.

 _Because I could never get your attention in Fili's shadow._ I wanted to say. There were a lot of reasons. She was beautiful and confident, she had personality. And I may be a prince, but I didn't have a beard, people constantly doubted me. And how could she ever notice me in the presence of my Uncle and brother?

She was different than any other girl I've met and so far Fili's charms hadn't worked on her. But how long would that last? How long before she fell for FIli or worse, Legolas?

"I didn't ask you because if you rejected me it would be strange to go on being friends." I answered honestly. "

"We can still be friends Kili. I would just like to know you better. And for you to stop being mean to me." Caelinn said.

I had been an ass to her. I had been for the last year or so.

"Sorry, I didn't know any other way to get you to notice me" I said sheepishly.

"That was why you were mean to me? That's stupid." Caelinn shook her head.

"You rolled your eyes whenever I used my charm and devilish good looks on you" I said with a cheeky grin.

"You're insufferable." Calepin rolled her eyes.

I reached over and rubbed my muddy hand on her shoulder. "Kili!" she shrieked. She made to smack me and I laughed and jumped out of her way before running to her house.

* * *

Caelinn's POV

He was impossible. Charming to be sure but very arrogant. He didn't wait for me at the door, he was already inside.

I pushed the door open and saw him standing in the middle of the hall.

"Hey, Kili why ar- Gloiron!" I shouted and ran to hug the red haired dwarf. He was short and stocky like all dwarves, but he had gotten thinner since I had last seen him. "Where have you been?" I asked.

"He has been with us" said a fruity voice. I knew voice anywhere. I turned to see Gandalf and Bilbo.

"Gandalf" I said and gave him a hug

"Hello my dear. Let me look at you. You've grown since I last saw you."

"Of course I have you silly old thing!" I smiled fondly.

"Caelinn Roberts, allow me to introduce Bilbo Baggins" Gandalf gestured to the hobbit.

"Hello Bilbo, it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person" I said while shaking hands with him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well. Gandalf told me a lot about you." He said.

"Oh is that so?" I looked at Gandalf "What exactly did he tell you?" Did he tell him about the time I got my hand stuck in one of Beorn's honey jars?

"That you come from the same place as Sarah" Bilbo said.

"Sarah? As in the one that went on the quest with you?" I asked.

"That's me" a woman said. I turned around.

Sarah had straight harvest gold hair, soft features, a round face and storm grey eyes. She wore black leggings, a blue tunic and a white fur rimmed cloak. _Oh my gosh she's beautiful. No wonder Thorin fell in love with her._

"Hello" I said. Sarah smiled. But she looked sad when she did. "What brings all of you here?" I asked.

"I have some business with Thorin" said Gandalf gestured to himself. "And Bilbo tagged along with us."

Bilbo smiled. Oh my gosh he was so cute.

"Well lets go into the dining room and get you something to eat, while I fix Kili's arm." I said. Gloiron led the others to the dining room and I went to change and get bandages for Kili.

I cleaned Kili's arm while he explained the battle between him and Thorin III.

"So just as Thorin was about to do me in, Dwalin snuck up behind him and whacked Thorin's head with a hammer." Kili finished.

"That's pretty clever to have switched out the flag for Dwalin's underwear. Where'd you learn that trick from?" I asked. Gloiron mumbled something into his ale.

"What was that?" Sarah asked. She had been pretty quiet till now.

"I said he learned it from his Uncle." Gloiron said. "He did that to Dain when we were boys, although it was my underwear at the time and we were against Black." Everyone laughed. We heard the front door open.

"Gloiron, are you here?" Eideth called from the front. Gloiron jumped up and ran to see his wife. The moment she stepped into the room he picked her up by the waist and swung her around. He started talking to her in Khudzul and I assumed that it was mostly endearments from the way Eideth was blushing.

Thorin, Fili, Gloin and Oin were all standing behind those two.

"Bilbo!" Fili shouted and raced towards the hobbit. "It's so good to see you again." Fili looked up and saw Sarah. He stopped smiling and just stared. I looked over at Thorin. He was gaping at her.

Sarah stood up. Her eyes shone and a small smile graced her lips.

"Sarah" Thorin whispered. As though he couldn't believe she was really there. They seemed to forget we were all there watching them.

"Kili? What's going on?" I whispered. He leaned over to me.

"They still love each other" he whispered back. Did that mean that this reunion would turn all mushy and they would fall into each other's arms and kiss? I've watched too many Disney films and chick flicks than was good for me over the years.

"Thorin" Sarah breathed. One word from her lips brought Thorin out of his stupor.

"After all these years and you've finally returned. You disappeared without a single word and left us all to assume that you were for dead!" Thorn shouted. I winced from his volume. This wasn't going the way I expected it.

"Thorin, it's not like that. Look I can explain." Sarah said. She walked towards him.

"Then do explain. I'm sure we all would love to hear your explanation." Thorin said sarcastically. Sarah stopped and began glaring at Thorin.

"If you're gonna behave like a two year old then I'm not talking to you until you start acting your age!" she said.

"You left for two years! Where were you? Tell me now!" Thorn shouted.

"Why do you bother ordering me around, Thorin? It certainly hasn't worked for you in the past." She shouted.

"Then perhaps I should banish you, Thief" Thorin spat out.

"Excuse me? Bilbo was the one who suggested stealing the Arkenstone and you forgave him!" Sarah shouted.

"Hey!" Bilbo protested.

"Shut up!" Thorin and Sarah shouted. Bilbo hid behind Gandalf to escape their killer glares.

"I can banish you under any charges, I am the King!" Thorin said to Sarah.

"You are not my King!" Sarah was up in Thorin's face now. She was scarier than Thorin.

"I ask that you leave my presence. I do not wish to see you again" Thorin said cooly.

"Wish I could oblige but Gandalf needs my help and he has business with you. " Sarah walked around him to the door "So nice to see you again, your _majesty_ " Sarah slammed the door behind her.

Thorin fumed before storming out the room moments later.

"Ok, that was interesting." I said to Kili. Everyone in the room hadn't moved an inch.

"I didn't think he'd react like that" Bilbo whispered to Gandalf.

"No, nor did I" Gandalf said. Kili cleared his throat.

"Lord Gloiron, we have something we need to discuss with you" Kili gestured to himself and Fili. "Alone" he finished.

"Better come with me lads." Gloiron said. He stood and gave Eideth a quick kiss on the cheek before leading Fili and Kili to his study.

"I suppose we better be leaving" Gandalf said and stood up. "Come along Bilbo."

"Yes, right. I'm coming" the hobbit stood and tried to regain his composure.

"Do you have somewhere to stay?" Eideth asked.

"We'll be staying in Dale, Lady Eideth." Gandalf said.

"Why don't you stay here?" she asked.

"Oh, no, no, no. I wouldn't wish to impose" Gandalf said.

"Nonsense!" Eideth proclaimed. "We have plenty of room for you and Bilbo. Come you must stay with us!" Eideth insisted.

"Yeah, we'd love for you to stay" I joined in. "I'd love to hear about what you two have been doing on your way here" I said.

"Not much, just visited Lord Elrond and his sons." Bilbo said.

"Elladan and Elrohir!" I shouted. "You actually met them?" I dragged Bilbo back to the table. "You have to tell me how that went. I've heard that they are practical jokers" I read this one fanfic where they played pranks on Legolas. It seemed that nearly every fanfic about them portrayed them as practical jokers.

"They are, they dyed Lord Glorifindel's hair pink while we were there" Bilbo giggled.

 **How was this chapter? I am no good with arguments. I'm thinking about writing a prequel for Sarah and Thorin. What does everyone think about that?**

 **Celebrisilweth** : Glad you liked it, there's plenty more coming.

 **Outofthisworldgal** : I'm so sad Kili hates red now, it's my fourth favorite color.

: Thank you!


	15. Chapter 15

**All rights belong to Tolkien! If you see the word Gloria, replace it with Gloiron. Curse you autocorrect! Same with Darwin, replace it with Dwalin.**

* * *

I rolled over in my bed and stretched. Light streamed in through my tiny window and landed on the floor.

I stared at the light spot on my floor before my eyes drifted around my room. I noticed that was clean.

"Ah that's right" I mumbled. I had stayed up extremely late last night cleaning.

I am not a slob. I am actually a very organized person who hates messes, but it is extremely difficult to keep things clean when most mornings you jump out of bed in a hurry and are gone all day.

Bekar-Gelekh is basically the Dwarf Olympics of Middle Earth, all shops and businesses close so I get a mini vacation.

I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling, nothing too exciting about that. As soon as the week was over Gloiron and I would be back in the forge. I was looking forward to learning magic with him, but I also dreaded the amount of work we'd have to do.

When Gloiron comes back, everyone flocks to the forge to commission special weapons.

I heard people talking. It was muffled by the stone walls and the oak door to my room.

I ignored the talking and rolled out of bed. I am not a nosy person, I like to mind my own business.

I shuffled over to my window and stepped on a pile of books to look out. My window faced south. We were in the front part of the mountain.

I could see Dale and the road that led there. There was some mist out that the sun had yet to burn off. It would be a nice day.

I heard something shuffling in the corner by my bathroom. Thunder had gotten too big to sleep on my bed so I moved him onto the floor.

I got him a huge pillow that he could grow into. He really liked his new bed. He was all sprawled out on his back. I leaned down and rubbed his belly.

His leg twitched but he didn't wake. I laughed and went to get dressed. I put on my regular forge clothes so I could take Thunder out.

"Thunder" I called in a singsong voice. He shot straight up and bounded to my door like he had never been asleep. He had gotten huge, his head now reached mid thigh. He wasn't my sweet little itty bitty puppy anymore.

People were still talking outside. I figured it must have been Gandalf and Gloiron.

I opened the door and walked to the main hall with Thunder.

"-not fair to the rest of us!" someone complained. I stopped short of turning the corner. I am not a nosy person, but sometimes you just can't help being curious.

"I'm sorry" a voice belonging to Gloiron said. "But I already gave my permission to him, and you may have it if he doesn't win the tournament." Who needed to win? Was Gloiron making a special, one of a kind, weapon for someone?

"Can we at least talk to her? How do we know that he even has her favor?" someone else asked. I knew that voice. One of them huffed.

Wait, did this have something to do with me?

"If she didn't favor him, then she wouldn't be around him all the time" Gloiron said.

"But, but, I knew her long before he did!" someone else complained. What the heck were they talking about? Thunder huffed quietly by my side. He had stayed behind the corner with me. The hair on his back was raised and stood alert.

"Should have gotten here first" Gloiron said. I could imagine him shrugging and scraping the dirt out from under his nails which he did when he didn't care to talk to someone. "But either way, you still have a chance to court Caelinn. If by the end of this week-"

Thunder barked and jumped out of our hiding spot. I rushed after him.

"Thunder!" I called. He ignored me and chased after three dwarves. I recognized all three of them.

One of them had thick brown hair and bright blue eyes. He was the dwarf with the rectangle knives with triangles stuck on the ends. The other two were regular customers who came in once every month or so.

Thunder charged after them and chased them out the door. They slammed the door shut. Thunder barked at the door a few more times. He stared at the door and huffed when he was sure they weren't coming back.

"Where the hell did you get that dog?" Gloiron shouted.

"He was a present" I said slowly. Gloiron smiled and chuckled heartily.

"Well whoever got him for you sure knew how to pick em" he chuckled. He walked towards the dining hall and I followed.

"I don't know what just happened, he has never acted like that before." I said. I was so worried that he might kick Thunder out or turn him into a rug.

"Well whatever just happened, I'm glad it happened. Those lads were getting on my nerves." Gloiron sat himself at the table and helped himself to a large portion of meats.

I never understood why dwarves liked meat so much. Sure I like having sausage and bacon at breakfast, but I like it with lots of pancakes, covered in blueberries, topped with a large slice of butter and drowning in maple syrup.

"How many freaking dwarves do I have interested in me?" I shouted.

"Shut yer trap girl, unless you want to wake everyone in the mountain who wasn't woken up by that flea bag of yers" Gloiron tossed Thunder a sausage which he happily munched on. At least they were getting along. Chalk saw Thunder getting food and wanted some too.

She struggled to get up. She had gotten so fat in the last few weeks. I wasn't sure if it was from catching lots of mice or bowls loaded with fish. Either way I was sorry I had given her to Heidi.

"As far as I know, four. Eideth told me there were plenty of visits in the last few weeks." Gloiron said and tossed Thunder another sausage.

Chalk, the poor little obese thing, had managed to pad her way across the floor to beg for food. Gloiron did not acknowledge her begging eyes. I guess he didn't like cats.

"So many?" I slumped down on a bench and gaped. I really needed to work on my people skills. Or maybe become more observant. You know what, probably both. "Did Kíli ask your permission?" I asked. "Was that the reason you went into your study with them last night?"

"No, we had some business to discuss. You know how I run errands and check on things for Thorin from time to time?"

"No I didn't" I said. "Is that where you've been going these last few years?" I asked.

"Yes, you know we were quite a team once upon a time." Gloiron said. "Dwalin, Balin, Gloin, Oin, Thorin, and I. We used to watch out for each other when we were lads." Gloiron stopped to take a drink. The twinkle that was usually in his eyes wasn't there all the sudden.

"The day the dragon came, we were all out hunting together. We saw the dragon enter, and dwarves run for their lives." he sighed at the memory. "When we moved to the Blue Mountains we added a few more to our number. Dwalin met Bofur in a pub, they became drinking buddies and we met Bombur and Bifur when we had to drag the two of them back home when they got drunk." Gloiron chuckled and I smirked. Gloiron had never talked to me like this before.

"Met Nori when he pick-pocketed Gloin. We talked about cutting his hands off until Dori and Ori rescued him. Ori was a bit younger than Heidi at the time. They were too skinny, all three of them. Nori was just trying to help raise his baby brother. Thorin's nephews and Ori became good friends after and became part of our group when Dís had Thorin or Dwalin babysit" I snickered at the thought of Dwalin babysitting little Kíli and Fíli. I couldn't imagine him changing diapers.

Chalk finally got tiered of begging and went back to her basket. She tried jumping up but ended up pulling the basket onto herself. I shook my head at the poor cat.

"When Thorin and Gandalf concocted their hair brained scheme to take back Erebor, I was one of the first to volunteer. Thorin declined my offer by saying he had a different job for me. One that was more dangerous and potentially harmful to my family." Gloiron paused.

"What do you do for him?" I whispered. What secrets was Gloiron keeping from us? Was he an assassin?! A spy?!

"I can't tell you that. But I need you to keep an eye out. Watch for anything suspicious, people, activities. You have good instincts when you choose to use them"

"That is so not true" I protested.

"You don't pay attention." Gloiron pointed out. That was true…more or less. I pouted knowing I had lost. "You've got brains, that's obvious, you need to start using them all the time from now on, especially if you end up marrying Kíli."

"About that, what does the end of the tournament have to do with Kíli?" I asked.

"I made a bargain, if he wins the tournament, he has my permission to court you. I'm not going to let just any dwarf OR man take away my apprentice" he paused "or my daughter" he added in a lower voice. He wasn't talking about Heidi, he was talking about me.

"I want you to promise me to keep an eye out for anything odd. This is very important." The urgency in his voice kept me from asking anymore.

"I promise" I squeaked out.

"If you see anything that you think is out of the ordinary, find Thorin, Nori, Dwalin, Balin or even Kíli and Fíli first. They will protect you and our family if need be." Gloiron finished. I nodded. Gloiron grunted and returned to his breakfast. "And perhaps you could start referring to me as Adad. No more of this master nonsense." The twinkle in his eyes returned.

"What about Father?" I asked. Gloiron snorted. "Or papa?" I was just trying to annoy him now.

"Adad or yer head." he threatened. I threw my hands up in surrender, all seriousness now forgotten.

"Alright Adad" I tried "I will be taking Thunder out to do his business."

"Take yer sword and put a dagger in yer boot!" he called after me. "Kíli says you've been doing rather well." he said. I blushed. "Be back here in time to get ready for the second stage" he told me.

"I'll be careful" I called as I left. Walking to the front gate I thought about everything he had said. I needed to be more careful and observant. That meant that I had to pay more attention to what was happening around me and be less self absorbed.

This involved my family's safety. And I had to help protect them. I was stronger and more mature now than I was two years ago. I am not the little girl who ran down ally ways to get away from bullies.

I shivered as I remembered the day I ended up in Middle Earth. I had been running down an ally way in London when all the sudden I stepped into a rabbit hole and got a mouthful of grass.

I still had no clue how I had gotten here. Gandalf always eluded my questions about it. I liked the wizard to an extent, but he schemed way too often and kept too many secrets.

To be honest, I am almost 100% certain that he has seen the Hobbit trilogy. As well as the Lord of the Rings. He quotes from them every now and then.

Of course Gandalf always manages to get out of my questions about it. The first thing I learned about the wizard was that he hates to answer questions. And occasionally answers questions with riddles that make you question his sanity.

 **I guess the plot just thickened. Duh, duh, duh!** **Thanks to everyone who has followed this story so far! I really appreciate the time you have spent read this.**

 **Silversun XD** : I used to hate pink, but it's starting to grow on me. I thought about neon green, but pink is more humiliating.

 **Celebrisilweth** : Yes she can. I can't wait to write the prequel! She can totally whip Thorin's butt in an argument!

 **Outofthisworldgal** : Sorry no double wedding. I might be able to bring the elf twins into the story. I think that Legolas needs to be a victim to one of their pranks, what about you?

 **watergoddesskasey** : Thank you!


	16. Chapter 16

**All rights belong to Tolkien. Except for the characters I own.**

Eideth had dressed me in a blue dress that was too tight around the waist. She warned me not to eat anything unless I wanted to pop a seam.

I rolled my eyes and asked why I couldn't wear something else.

"Because it is traditional for a girl to wear the house colors of the dwarf that's courting her." She snapped. She was really grumpy this morning. Her hair wasn't neat like it normally was, and Heidi wasn't helping by running around the house screaming.

And Gloiron was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Gandalf, but Bilbo was sitting at the table enjoying his second breakfast. I eyed him enviously.

Milly had given him meat pies and apple crisp along with a glass of milk to wash down the spicy meat and apple crisp.

I squirmed in my dress, I couldn't get comfortable in the stupid thing! I tugged at the waist and collar.

"Stop that! You're going to ruin the dress" Eideth shouted at me. She started readjusting the skirt and sleeves "Honestly" she breathed.

"Sorry" I mumbled.

"Apology accepted. Now go sit down and try not to ruin the dress" Eideth said.

I sat down next to Bilbo. "Hi" I said. He swallowed his mouthful.

"Good morning" he said.

"What do you mean by 'Good morning'? Do you mean-"

"All of them at once" Bilbo said. Alright then.

"So how long do you intend to stay in Erebor?" I asked.

"I don't know, it could be a few months. Gandalf and Sarah are working on something together" He took a bite of a meat pie. It smelled so good. I was so hungry! I reached over to gab a pie. Bilbo swatted my hand away.

"Ow!" I rubbed my hand. Maybe I shouldn't steal food from a hobbit.

"Don't touch" Bilbo growled.

"Sorry." I scooted away a bit. Hobbits are very protective of their food. "So tell some more about Sarah. Where'd you meet her?"

"On the day I met the dwarves. She came by a little after Thorin got there. Gandalf introduced her as a friend of his and she told him that they weren't friends. She acted very strange." Bilbo said. "She knew all of us and she started to mumble some odd things to herself. She then took Gandalf's staff and whacked him upside the head." Bilbo demonstrated with his fork "Then she laughed and said she had told him that she would get him one of the days" Bilbo shook his head. "We were all wary of her at first, but once we got to know her it was hard not to like her." he finished.

"You know, until a few days ago I had no clue that there was a woman on the quest?" I said.

"Sarah asked us to keep her out of the story. She said she didn't belong and that Gandalf was the only reason she was there." Bilbo said.

I wondered why she would do that. She was beginning to sound weird. Why on earth would she whack Gandalf with his staff? Maybe I should avoid her at all costs.

"Alright lets go" Gloiron called. Gandalf was standing with him in the front hall. I got up slowly and walked as fast as I could in the constricting dress.

I hobbled after everyone. We were heading to a large cavern inside the mountain. Stage two would be held here. Gertrude had told me that stage two was like an obstacle course. They changed it up every year to keep the competitors on their toes.

All around the mountain were vendors selling pies, books, toys, fabrics, trinkets, jewelry, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

The pies smelled delicious. There was apple pie, blueberry, blackberry and of course, lots and lots of meat pies. Dwarves and their meat. I rolled my eyes.

The obstacle course would begin in about a two hours, so I had plenty of time to look around with Bilbo.

We watched a juggler who looked like he had a head on collision with a rainbow. His pants were splattered with all different colors, and his shirt was patched and pieced together with different strips of fabric. He looked comical with the rainbow colored beads and bows in his beard.

He juggled with three balls and then someone threw him a forth. He caught it while juggling and added it to the rest. The children gathered around him cheered.

I looked around and saw a hand puppet show being put on for the children. It was about the retaking of Erebor. There was a tiny puppet with a mop of brown hair and a sword that looked like a sewing needle it was so tiny. It must have been Bilbo. And then there was a big puppet with a blue shirt and black hair. That was Thorin.

And then a dragon marionette of Smaug walked out on stage. He was all big and red with very small wings. Red and orange paper flickered out of his mouth. Smaug blew his 'fire' at Bilbo and Thorin. Hand puppet Thorin blocked it with his little shield.

It was cute. But I remembered the movies, the movies weren't that cute. I was nearly in tears during the third movie. Fíli's death, and Kíli with Tauriel. And watching Thorin go mad with gold sickness. It was nothing like the first movie which was fun, The Battle of the Five Armies was brutal.

I noticed someone standing behind the vendors. It was Nori, no one else had starfish hair like that. Nori handed a small coin purse to the person he was talking to, probably one of his contacts in the underworld.

I wandered over to a book vendor. Occasionally I picked up a book and looked at its contents. Right now I was just scanning titles for anything interesting.

 _Blood Chilling Tales from Gondor_ caught my eye. I picked it up and opened to the first page. It was a list of all the stories inside. ' _Carvings Behind the Counter, Butchers of Mordor, Pieces in the Forest.'_ Were a few of the titles. "How much?" I asked the old man.

"Two silver" he said. I searched for the coins in my purse. "That's not a book you should read at night" the book vendor warned.

"I'll take my chances" I said and paid for the book. "Thank you" I walked back to Bilbo who was eyeing the some pies. "Hi Bilbo!"

"Hello Caelinn." he greeted.

"Are you just going to stand there, eyeing the pies, or are you going to buy one?" I asked.

"I can't decide between blackberry and peach" Bilbo said. "They both sound so good."

"Get both of them" I said.

"Yes, I suppose that's a good idea" Bilbo said. "I'll have both the blackberry and the peach" Bilbo told the girl selling the pies. She smiled in relief. I wondered how long Bilbo had been eyeing the pies.

I noticed Sarah walking towards us.

"Hello Lady Sarah" I greeted.

"It's just Sarah" she said.

"Right, Sarah, so where have you been?" I asked.

"I'm staying the Ri brothers" she said. I noticed that she had a southern accent.

"Cool. Are you from Texas?" I asked slowly.

"Yes, I am. And you're from England right?"

"No, I'm from New York, but I lived in England before coming here" I said.

"Ah, walk with me?" she asked. I nodded. Sarah walked towards a toy vendor and inspected a puzzle box she found. "How are you liking Middle Earth?" she asked.

"It's amazing. It's different than home as you know, but it isn't medieval here like I used to think. There's so much to love here, the manners, the clothing" I gestured towards a group of women in beautiful dresses. I blushed. "The men" I said.

"Yes, definitely the men." Sarah agreed. "I like fighting here, using swords and bows. It's an art form that has been lost to our society." Sarah said as she began sliding pieces of the puzzle box around.

"Mostly because we don't need to fight like that anymore" I said.

"Yes, our world is much different" Sarah sighed as the puzzle box clicked and the lid popped open.

"Since you solved it I can give you a discount. It'll only cost you twenty instead of thirty" the toy vendor offered.

"I'd like that thanks." Sarah paid the vendor. "I'll be seeing you soon Caelinn" she said and walked off with her box.

I wandered around some more before stopping in front of a jewelry stand. I was admiring an emerald pendant when I heard someone stand next to me.

"Hello there" a man with a thick Scottish accent said. He had bright red hair, cold black eyes, and a beard that all dwarves would envy.

"Hello" I said and continued to admire the jewelry.

"Looking for anything in particular?" the dwarf asked.

"No, just admiring the craftsmanship" I said. I was currently inspecting a pair of earrings with copper and bronze leaves dangling from a topaz gem. The leaves were extremely detailed. "Are you looking for something?" I asked. This dwarf was beginning to unnerve me.

"Yes, a pretty young lady who goes by the name of Caelinn. Do you know her?"

"Nope, never heard of her" I lied. I wandered off to the next stall to get away from this dwarf. But he followed me there. I looked over my shoulder for Bilbo or Sarah. I saw Bilbo wiping his hands on his handkerchief. I quickly made my way over to him.

"Help me'' I mouthed. He saw the dwarf over my shoulder and nodded.

"Hello Dori, Ori, Nori" Bilbo called across the street to them. He grabbed my hand and ran to them. "There's a dwarf following Caelinn around. I need you to distract him." Bilbo said.

"That's Dain's son, Thorin III." Ori whispered.

"I'll take care of this" Nori growled "I have a goal to settle." That's right, Kíli told us that Thorin threw a rock at his head.

"Thank you" I whispered. Nori nodded and walked over to Thorin. We heard some shouting behind us.

"Let's go" Bilbo dragged me behind the vendors and up the stairs to another platform.

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Kíli's POV

I watched Bilbo drag Caelinn away from Thorin III. This was the last straw. Promise or no promise, I wasn't about to let him get away with that. Even if that meant I had to start a prank war.

I went some ways away to find Bombur's family. The dwarf had seven children, three of which were girls. And his wife was currently pregnant with their eighth child! Practically unheard of amongst dwarves.

"Gertrude" I called to the eldest girl who carried a little dwarf boy on her hip.

"Kíli, is Fíli with you?" she asked with a faint blush on her cheeks that made her freckles stand out.

"No, he's with my uncle. Gertrude I have a favor to ask" her blush went away and she bounced her brother back onto her hip.

"Depends, I'm babysitting" she said. I turned to her younger siblings who were staring at us. All of them, except for the baby Gertrude was holding, had bright orange hair and freckles.

"I need all of you to give Thorin a makeover. Make him look pretty. Can you do that?" I asked them. The three boys bobbed their heads up and down while the two girls giggled.

"Can we borrow some money?" the eldest boy, Fritz who was about twenty, asked.

"For what?" I asked.

"We need some stuff to make him look pretty" one of the girls giggled.

"I'll give you thirty" I said and handed the money over to Fritz.

"Thanks, we'll take it from here. Gerty, you can sit down with Bacon" the middle boy, Ernst, poked the baby boy in the belly, making him giggle.

"His name is Bahadur" Gertrude growled after Ernst. "Come on, we better get some good seats." Gertrude said, walking towards a few benches nearby.

Nori and Thorin were done brawling now. Nori was in the process of being dragged away by Dori and Ori while Thorin sported a black eye. I made a note to buy Nori a drink tonight.

"Is it true that you beat up Prince Kíli?" Fritz asked a bit too loudly. Thorin stood up straighter and let out a loud laugh.

"Aye its true lad" Thorin was obviously very pleased with himself, even if he did have a black eye.

"Wow, you must be really strong, our Daddy says that Prince Kíli is a really good fighter."

"I am very strong, Kíli never stood a chance" Thorin gloated. He was completely falling for it. I shook my head and leaned against the bench.

Wow, could you break ropes if you were tied to a chair?" Ernst asked.

"Why of course I could" Thorin said proudly.

"Can you show us?" the two girls asked with begging eyes. There was no way that Thorin could resist showing off.

"Sure, find me a chair and some rope" Thorin said. Ernst, Balfour, and the girls, Banu and Bahar, dragged Thorin to a vender that sold beauty products. Something new that involved applying powders to your eye lids and red paint you you lips. It was very popular with the women.

The girls shoved Thorin into the chair and the boys proceeded to tie him good and tight with some rope. I don't know where they got it on such short notice.

I spied Fritz discreetly buying some of the makeup, ribbons, and paints on the vender. Perhaps I should have given him fifty coins.

Thorin tried to get out of the chair, but he couldn't. The boys had been smart enough to wrap the rope around his arms and legs twice.

The girls began giggling as Fritz offered them some of the bows. They took them and started placing them in Thorin's hair and beard.

"What are you doing!" Thorin shouted. He continued to struggle with the ropes and keep his head away from the girls. "Get away from me!"

The boys joined in the fun too. They each took a brush and dipped it into some pink paint, they began putting it on Thorin's cheeks. and the girls started painting Thorin's hair different colors.

Thorin's shouts had attracted quite a crowd and they all watched as the Prince of the IronHills was being beautified by five very clever children.

"Somebody get these kids off of me!" Thorin shouted. "Don't you dare! Don't you dare!" Thorin shouted at Ernst who was about to dust Thorin with glitter.

* * *

§§§§§§§

Caelinn's POV

We heard someone shouting below. Bilbo and I looked over the banister and saw five children putting bows, paint, and glitter onto Thorin's hair. I giggled as Thorin struggled to get out of the chair he was tied to.

"How did those kids manage that?" I asked Bilbo who was chuckling.

"Something that I have learned over the years is to never underestimate children" Bilbo said. "Something that Gandalf learned the hard way from my mother when she was a child." Bilbo giggled.

"What happened?" I asked.

"My mother led a group of fauntlings, what we call our children" he added when he saw my confused expression "to prank Gandalf"

"No" I gasped. "What did they do?"

"They painted his hair like a rainbow, put pink and purple bows in his hair, and dyed all of his robes pink. He left the Shire and didn't come back for ten years. But I'm told it was a sight, my Grandmother Took said that Gandalf sparkled from the daisy crown on his head to his painted toe nails."

"I'd give anything to have seen that" I chuckled.

"I thought about having the fauntlings do that to Gandalf the next time he comes to visit me. To pay for all the trouble he put me through." Bilbo said.

"I honestly wouldn't blame you if you did." I said and continued to watch Thorin's torment.

* * *

 **WOW! 41 followers! I never expected that many! Thanks to everyone who has followed so far! Please review! :D**

 **Outofthisworldgal:** OMG I like that. Although I'm not sure how Thranduil will take a prank. You're right though, the King of Twigs, (cough) I mean Elves, needs to be pranked.

 **Silversun XD** : Thank you!

 **Isabella95** : I will update as often as I can.


	17. Not a chapter!

**Alert!**

I have good news and bad news.

The bad news: I am currently editing and rewriting the previous chapters. It will take me a while to correct them, I apologize. When the next chapter is posted, I suggest rereading the previous chapters.

The good news: Chapter one has been rewritten!

 **I'm sorry for the delay, I promise that I will make it up to everyone in chapter seventeen with a spoiler about Caelinn's end.**


	18. Chapter 17

**Sorry it's taken me so long to update! I had a severe case of writer's block. From now on you can expect a chapter every Friday night. All rights belong to Tolkien. Except for the characters I own.**

 **~Chapter 17~**

Caelinn's POV

The sound of bells echo inside the mountain. It was time for the second challenge to begin.

"Let's hurry and get good seats" I grab Bilbo's hand and drag him to the chamber where the tournament was taking place. Navigating through the crowds proved to be difficult, but somehow we managed to make it to the chamber.

The room was carved out like giant football stadium. Lanterns hang strategically around the room, giving off maximum light. Rows of benches carved into the mountain encompassed an arena. Bilbo and I gasp when we catch our first glimpse of the next challenge.

A tall tower built of wood and metal stood in the center of the arena. Placed at the top of the tower was an iron statue of a dwarf with a round shield clasped to his chest with one hand while the other held out a hammer. Hanging near the base are five rope ladders attached to long wooden beams that bear a strong resemblance to fan blades.

"What is that?" Bilbo asks me.

"It looks like an obstacle tower" I say slowly, unsure of what I was looking at.

* * *

§§§§§§§§§§

Kíli's POV

"Wow, Uncle sure went all out with this one! Is that against the rules?" I ask Fíli.

"The rules state that it must be an obstacle course, they say nothing about the direction" Fíli grins.

"It was nice knowing you" I pat Fíli's shoulder.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fíli asks.

"You remember back when we were kids and you got stuck in that tree?" I smirk.

"No" Fíli says slowly.

"And then Uncle had to climb said tree to get you out." I prompt him. Moments later Fíli's eyes widen as he remembers. I smirk and open my mouth, ready to make him relive the embarrassment all over again.

"Kíli" Fíli warns me.

"And then you both fell out of the tree because you yanked out a handful of his hair and…"

"Kíli!" Fíli roars and moves to tackle me. I jump away from his outstretched arms and laugh when he trips over his feet.

"Uncle landed on his back and couldn't stand straight for months!" I finish. Fíli makes to tackle me again. I dodge right but Fíli grabs my hair and yanks me back into a choke hold. I growl and claw at his arms, trying to escape.

"I still have trouble standing straight." a deep voice interrupts.

"Uncle" Fíli gasps as he releases me. I scramble to get up and stand by my brother. Uncle's is dressed his royal blue robes covered by a fur cloak and that hideous gold crown of his. Dwalin stands behind him in his regular brown tunic and frumpy old boots. The intricate gold belt being the only thing distinguishing him as a member of the royal court.

"Hi Uncle. What are you doing over here?" I ask quickly.

"I came to wish you two luck." Uncle smiles. "And to ere you on the side of caution." his voice drops to an ominous tone.

* * *

§§§§§§§§

Caelinn's POV

Bilbo and I nab a spot near the center of the chamber so we won't have any trouble seeing above the crowd. I spy the contesters from the winning team line up around the edges of the arena and Thorin heading to the nobles' private seats.

I lean over to Bilbo "It's about to begin" I say. The crowds begin to cheer as Thorin turns to address them.

"Welcome to the second day of the tournament." Thorin booms. "As you might have noticed, we have done something a little different with the challenge this year. Instead of designing an obstacle course, we've erected an obstacle tower. It will be more challenging than any arrangement we have seen in the past." The crowds begin the chatter with excitement. Thorin raises his hand to silence everyone. "Let the tournament begin!" Thorin declares.

A loud creaking begins to emanate from the center of the room. The tower slowly begins to turn and the fans that encompass the base begin to turn counterclockwise. The rope ladders swing out and different parts of the tower begin to shift and move. The crowds roar with excitement and anticipation as the tower comes life.

"Oh my"! Bilbo shouts.

"Awesome" I grin. A horn sounds and the one-hundred dwarves gathered on the sides of the arena rush towards the revolving tower.

* * *

§§§§§§§§

Kíli's POV

The horn sounds and I run as fast as I can to the tower. Grabbing onto the first ladder that swings past me I pull myself up and climb my way to the top. I see Fíli atop another blade. Catching his eye, an unspoken alliance forms between us. I nod and we race to the center where we pull ourselves through an opening above.

The floor begins to shift beneath our feet, boards begin to flap up and down like wings. The board I'm standing on begins to dip, I barely have time to regain my balance when Fíli falls through the opening we pulled ourselves through.

"Fíli!" I shout as I grab his hand and pull him back up. I see another dwarf begin to crawl out of an opening. We need to hurry if we're to make the top first.

"Thank you brother" Fíli breathes.

"What would you do without me?" I grin while searching for a way up. The board I'm standing on suddenly jolts and nearly sends me off the edge. Fíli grabs my arm to steady me.

"Let's get going" Fíli says and runs to the end of his board where he leaps off. Had he lost his mind?

"What are you doing?" I shout. Instead off falling, Fíli grabs hold of a handle I hadn't seen before and pulls himself up to the next platform. I wait until the end of the board is at it's highest mark before jumping after my brother. Time slows down as I grab the handle. I grunt as my arm is nearly ripped from its socket.

Almost as soon as I haul myself up, I'm nearly impaled by a metal rod that had shot out of the wall.

I cry out as I dodge another pole aimed for my legs. The pole that had nearly impaled me the first time sunk back into the wall. I noticed notches on the wall that went all the way to the top. Out of each notch came a pole before it sunk back in.

"Fíli, it's a pattern!" I shout to him. It goes bottom, middle, top! We need to crawl up the poles to reach the next level!" Fíli shouts back, but I don't hear what he says. I'm trying to find a clear path to crawl up.

To my left I see a partially bald dwarf crawling up. It's Dwalin. I clinch my teeth. If he had gotten up here, then we really needed to hurry. Seeing my chance, I run as fast as I can before leaping onto the poles and using my momentum to propel myself upwards. I reach the last pole and swing myself up to the next platform before the pole sinks back into the wall.

I look up and can see the statue. All I had to do was remove the hammer from his hand and hit it against his shield. I was so close.

I begin to climb up the side of the wall, assured of my victory.

To my horror, a deep, resonating sound echoes in the chamber. I begin to climb faster. The gong rings again. I had to hurry. I reach the top and and get to my feet as quickly as I can. Barely even to my feet I run to the statue and rip the hammer out of it's hand and strike it against the shield. I sigh in relief as I replace the hammer into the statue's hand.

"Well done little brother!" Fíli shouts and claps me on the back.

"You got up here before me?" I cry out in dismay before catching sight of Dwalin.

"Only a second before you did. I don't think I've seen you run that fast since the time you broke mum's favorite table!" Fíli teases me. I feel my face heat up.

"It was an accident" I mumble.

"Ya'll both did very well" Dwalin says. Coming from Dwalin, that was high praise. Fíli and I grin at the older dwarf. "Now how do we get off this thing?" he asks us. Fíli and I look at each other.

"We don't have to go back the way we came do we?" I ask Fíli.

"I don't know" Fíli admits.

* * *

 **If I remember correctly I promised a spoiler for the ending. Since it's been so long since I updated I believe that you all deserve to know that...I haven't planned the ending yet. ;) Perhaps you can give me some ideas on how it should end. *wink, wink***

 **Please let me know what you think is going to happen. It will really help me write better.**

 **BlackHreat: Yes, Legolas will come in a little later, he's dealing with something at the moment.**

 **Sortinghat: This is the beginning of Caelinn's story. I'm not starting at the beginning of how she came to Middle Earth because that's all unimportant backstory that will slow down the progression of the story I want to tell.**


	19. Chapter 18

**All rights belong to Tolkien, except for the characters I own.**

 **~Chapter 18~**

Caelinn's POV

I'm on the edge of my seat as I begin seeing familiar figures climbing up the tower. A whirl of golden hair catches my attention. It's Fíli, and he's with Kíli, they're working together to climb up the tower.

"Go Kíli and Fíli!" I shout. Although I doubt my cries will be heard above the roaring crowd. The tower turns, hiding them from my view. The next time that I see the boys, they're at the top of the tower, ringing the gong with a dwarf that looks like Mr. Dwalin.

The crowd begin cheering so loudly that Bilbo and I have to cover our ears to cheer along with them.

Bilbo shouts something at me, but I can't hear above the crowd "There are forty-seven places left" Bilbo mouths slowly.

"That's what everyone's told me" I mouth back. The crowd cheers louder as the gong rings for a forth time. Bilbo and I hold our ears tighter. I smile at the energy of the crowds. They were just like the sports fans back home.

Bilbo taps my shoulder. Turning my attention to him, he mouths "Lets go down and congratulate the boys." I look back towards the tower and see Kíli, Fíli, and Dwalin climbing down, going against the tide of remaining dwarves.

I nod and stand to follow Bilbo. We inch out onto the stairs and begin making our way down. I look up and see Dwalin fall off the tower. Kíli and Fíli lean over the edge. I assume they're laughing from the way their shoulders are shaking.

I laugh as Dwalin throws something up at them, missing Fíli's head by two feet. I chuckle once more and look up to find that I had lost track of Bilbo. I call his name, but no reply comes. I glance up and down the stairs, searching for the hobbit. Looking at the crowds of cheering dwarves, I notice a dwarf sitting down, motioning to a black bearded dwarf standing on the other side of the stairs.

Communicating in Iglishmêk isn't uncommon in loud places, but I didn't recognize any of the hand motions they were using.

The standing dwarf tapped his forefinger on his middle finger twice and then balled his fist up. The sitting dwarf motioned with a claw like hand signal. They went through a series of other motions before the sitting dwarf stood and walked up stairs with the other dwarf, right towards me. I avert my eyes from them, and pretend I'm watching the competition.

I shiver as the pass me, something didn't feel right. I'm about to tell myself I'm being stupid and paranoid, when I remember what Gloiron had said: " _You've got good instincts, when you choose to use them."_

I decide to go find Gloiron and tell him what I had seen. Even if I thought I was being paranoid. Gloiron was a noble, so that meant he would be sitting near King Thorin. I head over there as quickly as I can.

By the time I catch sight of his red mane, I'm out of breath and the dress is constricting my chest, enabling me to fill my lungs with air.

"Adad!" I call to him. He doesn't hear me because he's talking to Gloin. I march over to them and tap Gloiron's shoulder.

"What?" he asks me.

"What does this hand signal mean?" I ask inconspicuously. I tap my forefinger on my middle finger twice before balling up my fist. Glorion remains silent, but his eyes widen and Gloin's mouth is open. "What?" I ask, worried that I had sworn or something.

Gloiron grasps my shoulders with his hands and looks me in the eye. "Are you certain that's the motion you saw?" he asks me. There's an edge to his voice, it worries me. I hadn't said anything about seeing someone use it. How did he know? Unable to find the words, I nod.

Gloiron's face grows dark and he turns and mumbles something to Gloin. Gloin motions for me to follow him while Gloiron walks over to Eideth.

"Gloin, what's going on?" I ask the red headed dwarf.

"Save yer questions for later. We need to tell the others." Gloin rumbles. I shut my mouth and follow him obediently to the king's seat.

We're greeted by Lady Dís as we approach. She's magnificently dressed in a maroon dress that's studded with topaz gems and hemmed with golden thread. Matching topaz gems are threaded throughout her raven black hair and beard.

"Hello Gloin. Caelinn you look beautiful." Dís smiles at me.

"Thank you Lady Dís" I curtsy as best as I can, hoping I don't fall over. Gloin ignores Lady Dís' greeting and hurries over to King Thorin who's sitting in his throne.

Gloin mumbles something to King Thorin. His mouth turns into a straight line as he glances at me. I'm not sure what is happening, but I'm not liking it.

"Have you talked to my son recently?" Lady Dís asks me. I'm about to ask her which son, but it's obvious she means Kíli.

"Not since I patched up his arm yesterday" I answer.

"What are you going to say if he wins this year's tournament?" she grins at me.

"I…uh, well you see, um." I stutter, unsure of how to answer that. I feel my cheeks heating up as I try to think of an answer.

"Caelinn, keep up would ya?" Gloin shouts over his shoulder. He, King Thorin, and several other members of the Company are leaving the chamber.

"Coming!" I call back. I curtsy to Lady Dís before hurrying after them, glad to be out of that situation. To be honest I didn't know what I was going to say. I hardly even knew Kíli well enough to be considering marriage with him!

I follow them back to the palace where we are led to a large room with a big desk, a huge fireplace, and lots of books. It took me a moment to realize that this was King Thorin's study. It seemed odd that it was so bare and unadorned.

I stand by the doors, unsure of what I'm supposed to be doing. Suddenly the doors burst open, narrowly missing my shoulder. Gloiron, Kíli, Fíli, Dwalin, Gandalf, Bilbo, Nori and Bofur come in. Kíli and Fíli go to stand beside their uncle, who is standing in front of his desk, grim faced. Nobody is smiling, and I'm really beginning to regret asking Gloiron what that motion meant.

"Can you demonstrate that hand motion you showed me?" Gloiron asks me. I quickly repeat the hand motion.

Dwalin growls something in Khudzul. And several other dwarves mumbled similar phrases.

"Did you see anything else?" King Thorin asks me.

"The other dwarf made a motion like this" I claw my hand and extend my fore and middle fingers out and make a slight swiping motion. Remembering some of the other motions used, I slowly duplicate the other motions he had made.

"This is an outrage!" Dwalin roars. I jump at his outburst. "I say we track them down and bash in their heads!" A few of the other dwarves voiced their agreement.

"What did those motions mean?" I interupt. The room grows silent

"Those motions you made, they are a dialect used in the Iron Hills" Balin answers me. "The first one you made means 'to kill', and those last ones-"

"Confirm our suspicions" Dwalin interrupts.

"And what suspicions are those?" Bilbo asks from Gandalf's side.

"That someone is planning to assassinate our King" Nori growls "and the princes"

* * *

 **I bet that you all thought I wasn't serious about posting a new chapter every Friday night. Some feedback would be much** **appreciated.**


	20. Chapter 19

**This week's been so busy I had to write this in one afternoon! Please enjoy. All rights belong to Tolkien, except for the characters I own**

 **~Chapter 20~**

Huffing, I collapse on top of my bed and stare at the grey ceiling. The only sound to be heard is the crackling of fire from the fireplace. Just hours ago I had been wishing to get out of that tight dress Eideth had stuck me in, now I am wishing that I had never asked Gloiron what those motions had meant.

Since then, I have been interrogated by Nori and Dwalin about the appearance of the two dwarves and where I had seen them, if I'd seen them before and such. And now I wasn't allowed to go anywhere in the kingdom without telling someone where I was going, I had to go with Thunder, and bring a sword. Sighing I pick up the book I had gotten today.

"Blood Chilling Tales from Gondor" I read aloud. Grinning I flip open the book to the first story; _Pieces in the Forest_.

Two hours later I'm cowering beneath a blanket and thanking whatever gods they have in Middle Earth, that I live in Erebor. Shivering beneath my blanket, I slowly edge off my bed to throw another log onto the dimming fire.

Thunder ruffs quietly behind me. He's sitting by the door, looking at me and then to the handle.

"Ok, ok, I'll take you out" I mumble, trying to remember where I'd placed the no good sword I had forged a few weeks ago. "Where's…oh right" I remember it's on top of one of my bookshelves. Retrieving Candle, I strap it to my side and head over to Gloiron's study.

Knocking on the door softly, I hear a muffled 'come in' from the other side. Cracking the door open wide enough to stick my head in I tell Gloiron that I'm going outside Erebor and that I'd be back soon.

"Do you have yer sword with you?" Gloiron shouts after me.

"Yes it's strapped to my belt" I call over my shoulder as I race to the front door. I yank the door open and Thunder and I race to the entrance.

Emerging from the mountain I sigh in relief as the cool air of early September wraps itself around me. I breathe in the fresh air and get excited about the coming winter.

Winter has always been my favorite time of year. I love everything about winter; the hats, boots, gloves, snow, and Christmas!

"Christmas" I sigh. The middle Earth equivalent of Christmas was Yule, and that occurred on the winter solstice instead of December 25th. Families would take in holy, mistletoe, and pine branches inside to hang it around their home. Candles would be lit, pumpkin pies would be baking, and gifts would be given.

Lights from Dale begin to shine as the sky grows dark. I gaze at the city of Men, thinking about my last visit there with Legolas. A dark shadow traveling towards Erebor snags my attention.

I squint, trying to see the figure more clearly. It was a lone female dwarf. I stand ready to draw my sword as the figure draws closer.

Thunder's head jerks up, his ears perked towards the dwarf. He raises his nose up and starts sniffing. After a few moments, his tail begins wagging and he bounds towards the female dwarf before I can tell him 'no'.

He begins running around her legs and jumps up to lick her face. She kicks him away from her and shoos him off before continuing down the path.

"Thunder" I call the dog towards me. Thunder ignores me and continues bouncing around the walking dwarf. "Thunder!" I cry out in dismay. I hurry towards the poor lady to grab the dog.

"I'm so sorry" I apologize to the dwarf woman. "I don't know what got into him." I grab the dog's collar and try to control him.

"Ya should learn how to control yer birthday present" the dwarf scolded me.

"Visha?" I ask in astonishment. "What are you doing out here? Is it safe for you to travel out here all by yourself?"

"Well aren't ya a bundle of questions today lassie." Visha teases while shifting her three bags hung over her shoulders.

"Would you like some help with those?" I ask.

"Aye" Visha breathes as she throws two of her larger bags at me. I grunt at the sudden weight.

"You got bricks in here?" I joke before tossing the bags over my shoulder. Visha ignores me and saunters off towards the front gate. "Where've you been?"

"That's the sixth question ya've asked me since yer dog attacked me." Visha gripes.

"You counted?" I asked.

"Seven." Visha announces.

"Well why don't you ask me a few questions." I suggest.

"How's the Bekar-Gelekh going?" Visha asks begrudgingly.

"It's going good, the Dwaves of Erebor won the first stage, and Mr. Dwalin, Fíli, and Kíli got first, second, and third place in the second stage this morning." I recount, leaving out the bit about confirming a plot to assassinate the royal family."

"Ya know, I came across an interesting piece of gossip while I was in Dale." Visha mentions suddenly.

"Oh really? What was this interesting piece of gossip?" I ask.

"Prince Kíli is seeking permission to marry a human girl living in Erebor. Ya wouldn't know anything about that now would ya?" Visha asks slyly. I humph in response. "I was wondering when he was going to get round to asking ya. He's been ogling ya for two years ya know."

"I do now" I grumble. "So can I buy more books from you now that I've forged a few enchanted objects?" I quickly change the subject.

"What have ya gotten so far?

"A sword that lights on fire, a bracelet that glows, and I'm planning to forge a knife that glows blue whenever orcs are near." I announce proudly.

"Is that the sword ya made?" Visha motions to my side. Grinning, I place down the bags I was carrying and unsheathe my weapon.

"Id-ursu!" I command. The tip of the sword flares to life. I grin proudly and swipe it through the air.

"Is it supposed to do that?" Visha asks, unimpressed.

"Sorta." I shrug. "I didn't know that it didn't work right until I showed it to Kíli. And his mother" I duck my head, remembering that embarrassing encounter. Visha hums.

"Well sheathe yer sword and pick up yer bags, I want to get home tonight and sleep in my own bed." Visha says. I do as she commands and we enter Erebor together.

"You still haven't answered my question from earlier." I point out.

"No, I didn't"

"Well where have you been? I haven't seen you in over two weeks!" I say.

"Here and there, and then back again." Visha answers. She's evading my question. Deciding that I had done enough prying for one day, I leave her alone.

We're finally at her bookshop, and just in time. My back was beginning to ache.

Visha unlocks her doors and heads inside. Thunder and I follow behind her. The shop is dark so I stay by the front door waiting for Visha to light a candle or something.

"Hello irak'amad" a voice utters behind me. I squeak as a hand grasps my shoulder.

* * *

 **Outofthisworldgal** : Thank you!

 **Nox (Guest)** : I'll go back and fix the missing words. Thanks for pointing that out!

 **Jord-El** : I'm glad you're enjoying this. I'm leaning towards team Kíli as well.

 **AprilDaniel** : Thanks! I'll update as often as I can.


	21. Chapter 20

**My chapters are just not as long as they used to be, I am so sad.**

 **~Chapter 20~**

"Nori stop scaring the poor girl" Visha scolds the spymaster. Nori removes his hands from my shoulders. I sigh in relief and press my hand against my pounding heart.

"Sorry auntie, I couldn't resist" the starfish-haired dwarf grins. Auntie?

"Wait, she's your aunt?" I ask.

"Yep, can't you see the resemblance?" Nori asks and wraps his arm around Visha's shoulders. I see no resemblance. Nori has a bulbous nose, slightly squinted eyes, and a questionable taste in hairstyles, whereas Visha has a small nose and big, round eyes.

Visha suddenly whacks Nori across the back of his head.

"I'm not yer auntie, now stop using that revolting nickname." Visha snaps at Nori.

"You are an official member of our family, irak'amad." Nori gives her a cheeky grin. "What would we have done without you all those years ago?" he asks Visha.

"Ya would 'ave been arrested by Dwalin and flogged within an inch of yer life! And if I knew then what I know now, I never would 'ave taken you in." Nori waves her off and approaches me. His eyes alight with mischief

"Wanna help me with something secret?" his smile reminds me of the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland.

"No" I say flatly. Whatever he is up to I want no part of it. I've already gotten myself mixed up in enough trouble.

"Wise choice" Visha approves with a nod of her head.

"Oh come on" Nori begs, "it'll be fun. Danger around every corner, creeping in the shadows, dodging murderous attempts." he breathes in deeply. "Just think about it" he finishes with a grin.

"I think that you have a death wish." I say. "My answer is still no."

"Alright, fine, I know the look of a girl with her mind made up." Nori concedes. He sighs, looking defeated, making me feel like I've just kicked a puppy.

Nori places his hand on a shelf of one of the bookshelves, making one of the books fall off. The pages in the book spew across the floor.

Visha swears and stoops to collect the scattered papers. I lean down to help her collect the pages.

Picking up the pages I realize that they are blueprints of Erebor. I recognize one of the diagrams. Its of the market room. It shows the location of the pillars, the shops, and the hallways leading from the room. But something's not right. There's a tunnel behind the shops, and each tunnel has a what looks like a door to each room.

"There's no tunnel behind the shops." I say and shuffle to another page. It's of the level where my forge is. There are several passages that I have never seen before on the diagram. "And these aren't here." I look up at the two dwarves. Nori is grinning like a maniac and Visha is looking at Nori like he's just called her an ugly old crone.

"Oops, cat's out of the bag" Nori shrugs.

"What was it you wanted me to help with?" I ask.

"Are you free early tomorrow morning?" Nori smirks.

* * *

"I can't believe he actually talked me into this, this is not early morning" I grumble to Thunder, whose happily trotting alongside me. We are going deeper into the mountain than I have ever been before.

Looking at the map Nori gave me, I make a right turn at the next intersecting bridges. There are less lanterns lit in the area

I shiver and pull my coat tighter around me. The air is becoming chillier the deeper I go.

Coming to a stop at the next corridor I double check the map to make sure this is where Nori marked an X. I'm at the right mining entrance, but no one's here.

Thunder huffs as he sits down next to me. I smile and pat his head as I look around for Nori. No one is around except for us.

After a few minuets I start to get worried. I am certain that I'm in the right place though.

"Caelinn" I jump at Nori's voice. "Let's go" he enters the mine, that I assume he's just come from.

"Some guard dog you are" I scold Thunder, who just wags his tail and tilts his head. I humph and follow the spymaster into the mine.

"This is the deepest into the mountain I've ever been" I tell Nori. He's walking ahead of me with a small lantern in his hand.

"Honey, we're gonna go deeper than we've ever mined before the sun rises"

"Will we be back in time for stage three?" I ask.

"That's not happening till noon, we should be back by then. Do you have what I asked you to bring?" I move my coat to pat my sword. "Good. Alright boys, let's get a move on. Dwalin, Caelinn, you two together, Bifur you're with me, and Kíli and Bofur you two partner up." he orders.

My head shoots up. I didn't know that anyone else was here. The six dwarves emerge from the shadows, looking like they had just melted out of the rocks.

"Nori, when we said extra help, we didn't mean her" Kíli hisses at Nori.

"What? She already knows what's happening, and that sword of hers will come in handy" Nori reasons.

"No, I don't want her here with us, it's too dangerous!" Kíli raises his voice. All the other dwarves, except for Dwalin, shush Kíli before I can tell him he's being an idiot.

"We don't know who else is down here." Bofur reminds Kíli.

"Sorry" Kíli apologizes. Thunder walks up to his and bumps his head against Kíli's hand. Kíli pets the husky pup on the head.

"Kíli, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, and I'll be with Dwalin and Thunder. I don't think I can get much safer than that." I say. Kíli says nothing else. "So what are we partnering up for?" I ask.

"In case we need to separate at some point. It's never wise to travel alone underground." Nori says.

"Unless you're Bilbo." Bofur pipes in. "We asked Bilbo to come with us, but our lucky charm said he's had enough of sneaking through tunnels in the dark."

"Lucky charm?" I ask. "I don't think Bilbo will appreciate that nickname very much." I chuckle. I hear Dwalin laughing behind me.

"Aye, that he didn't. Stirred up quite a storm when Nori referred to him as that" the tattooed dwarf chuckles.

"If he had been tall enough I'm sure he would have strangled him too" Bofur adds. Nori growls before soaring ahead of us, taking the light with him.

"Better light up that sword girl" Dwalin tells me. I pull out Candle and hold it upwards.

"Id-ursu" I command the sword . The tip of the sword lights up, coating the walls golden-red light. I smile hopefully at Dwalin while he eyes my sword critically.

"Can't even forge an enchanted weapon right" Dwalin scoffs at my sword. The smile falls from my face. What will it take to earn his approval?

"It should be around here" Bofur says while tapping his pickax on a side of the wall. I hear a click before cracks appear in the smooth wall, forming a rectangle shape. Bofur pushes against the wall and it swings inwards like a door.

"Alright now boys, and girl, shut your traps and keep your eyes peeled" Nori says before entering the small tunnel.

Dwalin motions that I go on ahead of him.

"Ladies first" he rumbles.

"Age before beauty" I bow and motion towards the secret entrance. Dwalin raises his eyebrow at me before marching after Nori.

"Stay close to me and Dwalin" Kíli whispers as we enter the slender tunnel. I place my hand on Thunder's collar as we descend deeper into the mountain.

* * *

 **Thanks to everyone who has bothered to follow/favorite me so far. I really appreciate the support!**

 **Outofthisworldgal** : No the last chapter was not filler. Just something I had to write quickly.

 **LoverxofxNight** : Me too.


	22. Chapter 21

**All rights belong to Tolkien. I wrote this chapter in two hours! That is my new personal best! Please enjoy and review!**

 **~Chapter 21~**

Caelinn's POV

"We're here" Nori stops and pulls out a map.

"Where's here?" I ask, trying to peer around Dwalin's body.

"The split. Visha was working to restore the maps for this area, but the maps were beyond repair. So we need to travel down these tunnels to find the underground highway." Nori explains as he shuffles the map around. "Hold this" he hands his lantern to Dwalin.

Nori shuffles with the map and several other pieces of paper before he speaks again.

"Alright, Dwalin, Caelinn, you two go down the left tunnel. Kíli, Bofur, you two go down the right tunnel and me and Bofur will take the one in the middle."

"Taking the tunnel that's most likely to lead to the underground highway so you can brag about finding it? I think not" Dwalin snaps as he hands the lantern back to Nori.

"Then you go down the center tunnel and I'll take the left tunnel" Nori sighs, obviously done with Dwalin. Dwalin humphs and starts off down the center passage. I tentatively follow after him, but someone places a hand on my shoulder, causing me to look back.

"Hey, be careful" Kíli says. The look he's giving me makes me feel warm all over.

"I will" I smile at him before I continue down the passage after Dwalin.

The deeper underground we go, the more claustrophobic I feel. I feel like the walls are caving in and the ceiling is pressing against my skull. Every breath I take is labored and stifled. My vision goes blurry and I feel like I'm about to faint.

Thunder bumps my hand with his wet nose. I place my hand on his neck, almost instantly I feel safe and brave.

"Thanks boy" I mumble to Thunder.

Dwalin suddenly halts. He tilts his head from side to side, like he's listening to something.

"Dwalin?" I ask. Suddenly I'm jerked out of the way as a loud crash echoes in the tunnel. I see a pile of rocks where Thunder and I had just been standing. "How did you know?" I ask Dwalin, amazed and curious. He just shrugs.

"I'm a dwarf" he says as if that explains it.

"Really? I thought you were a small bear that is going bald." I mumble so Dwalin won't hear me. I see his shoulders tense, and I realize that he had heard me. I have just signed my death warrant.

* * *

Kíli's POV

I hear a loud crash echo in the tunnels.

"What was that?" I ask Bofur.

"Some rocks crashed in the other tunnel." Bofur answers.

"How can you sense that?" I ask him. "I can barely sense how deep we are, and even then I'm just making an educated guess"

"You'll figure it out in time. You just haven't lived underground long enough."

"It's been two years!" I cry out.

"It's just gonna take time." Bofur rephrases.

"Great! I can't grow a beard, I haven't developed those special dwarf senses, and I'm too chicken to tell a girl that I'm in love with her! Mahal!" I swear.

Bofur's chuckling only helps to further aggravate me. I pout and push ahead of the miner.

"You'll figure that out in time too!" Bofur assures me. "Love is a strange thing, it's even stranger when you're One is of a different race."

"I didn't even think it was possible to have a One outside your species" I tell Bofur.

"Aye, it happens. I once knew a lass who's One turned out to be a man. Her family was against them marrying, so they didn't. But after her One grew old and died, she said that she always wondered what would have been had she gone against her family's wishes." Bofur sighs.

"When was that?" I ask the miner.

"Before Smaug came." Bofur says cheerfully. From all the years of knowing Bofur, I can tell when he is hiding behind his smile and cheerful demeanor. And right now, he's hiding a pain that I've only felt once; when I nearly lost Fíli and Uncle.

"Did you love her?" I ask.

"I'd have to be a wretched creature not to love my big sister!" Bofur cries out before coming to a dead halt.

"What is it?" I ask Bofur. I peak around his shoulder and see a dark mass lying on the floor.

"It looks like we're not the only ones who know about the tunnels." Bofur says. He crouches in front of the dead body and holds the lantern out. "Looks like he died a few hours ago. Poisoning by the look of it"

"How do you know that?" I ask the miner. Bofur points to his eyes.

"His eyes are open and dilated, and there's some blood trickling out of his mouth. That's a sure sign of poisoning." he explains.

"Being in dark tunnels can cause the eye thing, and most wounds to the chest cause you to cough up blood" I argue.

"But there's no injury on the body" Bofur points out. Inspecting the body closer, I find that the miner is right, there's no wound on the body. "Can't be completely sure though, this is more of Oín's area." he says.

I move to lift up the dead dwarf's beard for injury. I find a large, red welt on the left side of his neck.

"Yep that's a poisoned dart wound" Bofur says.

"Should I be concerned about how you know all this?" I ask Bofur.

"The mines are unsafe for a number of reasons." Bofur answers. "Let's go get Nori, tell him we've found the underground highway."

* * *

Caelinn's POV

"Oh wow!" I breathe out. The cavern we had just walked into is amazing! The light from my sword glints of the stalactites on the ceiling, creating a disco ball effect in the cavern.

The cavern is quite large and just as beautifully carved as Erebor. I spy a large well on the far wall, almost hidden behind one of the eight stone pillars in the room.

"What is this place?" I ask Dwalin.

"It's a blackmarket." He answers. "See that banner over there?" he points to the far wall where there is a faded red banner with a squiggled black mark in the center. "That's the symbol used for dwarvish blackmarkets" he explains.

"Just out of curiosity, what do dwarvish blackmarkets sell?" I ask, I know what human blackmarkets sell, but I'm not sure what the dwarves would sell on the blackmarket. And I'm not even sure if elves have a blackmarket.

"Same as humans I assume; extremely dangerous weapons like tri-daggers, herbs that mess with the way you feel in your head, illegal items. And prostitutes." Dwalin growls. "Only the scum of the earth would ever come down here."

"Does Nori go to places like this?" I ask Dwalin.

"Compared to the scum that come here, Nori's an angel." Dwalin snorts. He suddenly swears in dwarvish and falls to the ground.

"Dwalin?" I shout and rush to the fallen dwarf.

* * *

 **A special thanks to everyone who's read this so far! I'm still waiting for critics though.**

 **LoverxofxNight** : I just wish I had more to write for each chapter and have a non-cliffhanger ending.

 **TikiKiki** : I can't wait to see where this going too!


	23. Chapter 22

**WARNING! Really short chapter.**

 **~Chapter 22~**

Caelinn's POV

"Dwalin? Are you alright?" I lean over the dwarf's fallen form. His teeth are clenched and he's clutching his left leg. He growls something at me. "What did you say?" I ask.

"I said…to stop mother-henning over me" he says slowly through clenched teeth. "I just rolled my ankle." He inhales sharply. "Help me up" he commands.

I pass my sword to my left hand and lend my right arm to Dwalin. He grabs my shoulder and slowly hoists himself up to a standing position. Putting weight on his left leg he breathes out slowly, adjusting to the pain.

"You okay?" I ask the dwarf.

"I'll be better once we get out of here" he grunts. I nod and help him limp back up the passage we came from.

A low, menacing growl emanates from Thunder.

"What is it boy?" I whisper to him. His hackles are raised and his ears are up. He lets out a small bark, which echoes off the stone walls, turning the small bark into a crack of thunder.

"Shut up yer hound lass." Dwalin hisses at me.

"Thunder be quite" I whisper to the angry husky. Thunder turns his head up to me and gives me an evil stare. I know exactly what that look means: we should I listen to you? He's given me that look quite a few times over the last few weeks.

Thunder's ears twitch and he snaps his head back to the tunnel in front of us. As the seconds tick by, I begin to hear a shuffling sound from the darkness. Thunder's ears press back against his head and his lips are pulled back to reveal his long white teeth.

Dwalin pushes me behind him, all the while holding onto my shoulder and staying off his bad ankle. My heart is pounding against my chest as the shuffling gets nearer.

"Dwalin, Caelinn, is that you?" a familiar voice calls out to us.

"Kíli" I breathe in relief. "Don't sneak up on us like that, you nearly gave me a heart attack" I sigh. Bofur hurries over to Dwalin and me and grabs hold of Dwalin's other arm.

"I'll take it from here lassie." Bofur says.

"Sorry" Kíli apologizes as Thunder jumps up to lick his face. I wrinkle my nose at the thought of dog slobber.

Why does Thunder always act like this around Kíli? He barks and growls at nearly everybody else, but around Kíli, he's a sweet as a little lamb. I try to shrug it off as Kíli just having a way with animals but, I don't think that's the case.

Thinking back to when I got Thunder on my birthday, I remember the card I got; ' _He'll watch over you when I can't'._

§§§

Kíli's POV

"You gave Thunder to me." Caelinn accuses me out of the blue. "Was he your courtship gift?" she shouts.

"Maybe." I look around, trying to figure out how to get out of this one. I glance back at Bofur and Dwalin. Bofur shakes his head at me and continues back up the path. Traitor.

"You have been courting me ever since I came of age! What is your problem?" she shouts at me.

"I don't have a problem!" I lie. She's my problem that, and I'm a big chicken.

"I thought we had agreed to be friends."

When did we agree to just be friends? I scrunch my nose, thinking back on all the times I've been with her. I can remember what she wore the first time I met her, how the light glints off her hair, making it look like molten bronze, the way she bites her lip when she's engrossed in a book. I remember how she makes me feel when she's near, but for the life of me, I can't remember agreeing to just be friends.

"We did?" I ask slowly. Caelinn's jaw drops. I know that I've said the wrong thing. But that was the only thing I could think of.

Caelinn closes her mouth and storms past me, taking the light with her. I hear Thunder whine next to me.

"I don't know either boy, I don't think I'll ever understand women." I tsk before following suit. I guess we were going back to find Nori and Bifur. Hopefully they have better news than us.

* * *

 **Please forgive me for taking so long to update. I got caught up in my other projects. I'll be going back updating every Friday night now!**

 **Outofthisworldgal:** Got ya didn't I?

 **LoverxofxNight** : I'm glad you like them

 **TikiKiki** : Well expect a cliff hanger in every single chapter

 **MehhHehh** : Sarah is a character from a fan fiction that I want to write, but am kinda scared to embark upon.

 **Demona Evernight** : Thank you for telling me about the mess in ch 20! I have no idea what happened.

 **Since I've gotten a few questions about what fanfic Sarah's from, I've been thinking about starting it. What are your thoughts? Should I, or should I not?**


	24. Chapter 23

**It's Friday! Enjoy the new chapter! All right's belong to Tolkien, except for the characters I own.**

 **~Chapter 23~**

Kíli's POV

Something's not right, we should have met up with Nori and Bifur by now. The path they had taken continues on in a perfectly straight line, but there's no sign of them.

"That pointy-haired thief had better not have gotten himself in trouble" Dwalin mumbles from up ahead.

I glance back at Caelinn, who's been ignoring me since she found out that Thunder was a courting gift.

I catch her eye and wink. She stares at me with her lips pressed tightly together before turning her gaze to the ground. I frown and go back to following Bifur and a limping Dwalin.

"What's this?" Bifur shouts. I jump to his side to see what has happened. The tunnel we have been traveling down opens up to an even larger tunnel that extends in either direction.

Cast iron lanterns hang from the high ceiling, unlit. The pungent smell of lamp oil hits me like a wave, sending me reeling back, bumping into Caelinn.

"Watch it" Caelinn chides as she steadies me.

"Thanks" I flush from embarrassment. I should have been the one to catch her, not the other way around.

"What is this place?" Caelinn asks through a plugged nose, sounding like a broken trumpet.

"It looks like the underground highway" Dwalin breathes.

"But Kíli and I found the underground highway in our tunnel!" Bofur insists.

"I don't think so Bofur. I think that tunnel led to the mines," I say "it's the only explanation. The dead dwarf in the tunnel, he must have traveled down from the mines to report back to someone."

"What dead dwarf?" Caelinn asks. "And why would they kill him?"

"There are three reasons I can think" Bofur says. "And none of them are very pleasant" he finishes, leaning Dwalin against the wall so he's free to investigate the tunnel.

"There's no sign of Nori or Bifur" Dwalin growls "That stupid dwarf better not have gotten himself in trouble" he hisses, stepping on his bad foot.

"Careful!" Caelinn says. "You're gonna make it worse" Wrapping one of Dwalin's arms around her neck. Jealousy surges through me.

"Let me" I say, pushing her away from Dwalin. She gives me a questioning look "Go down the other way and see if you can find them" I instruct her.

"Easy lad" Dwalin chuckles once Caelinn is a safe distance away. "She's not gonna fall for an old dwarf like me." I sigh in frustration.

"I know, but-"

"Don't get too possessive, she hasn't accepted nor rejected you yet. Don't ruin your chances" Dwalin advises me. "She's a lot like Sarah ya know." he comments.

"She is?" I ask. I think back to all the times I've been with Caelinn and compare to the memories I have of Sarah. They're both independent women. And they both possess a quiet strength that manifests itself when defending their loved ones or their freedom. Perhaps Dwalin's onto something…

"Aye. Don't make the same mistakes Thorin's made with Sarah" he warns me.

"I think I already did" I comment dryly, watching Caelinn and Thunder search for any sign of Nori or Bifur.

"Nothing that can't be fixed" Dwalin assures me "Just be-" he's interrupted by Bofur shouting.

"Hey! Over here!" Bofur waves us over to where he's tending to a lump on the ground. "It's Bifur!" he exclaims. That sends us running to his side. Bifur is lying unconscious with a large lump on his forehead.

"Wake up Bifur" Bofur pleads. Bifur shifts but keeps his eyes closed before mumbling unintelligibly in Khuzdul.

"Where's Nori?" Dwalin asks Bifur.

Bifur's eyes open slightly before closing. Bofur gently shakes him awake.

"Come on, we need to know where Nori is. Did he go somewhere?" Bofur asks. Instead of answering, Bifur reaches behind him and taps three times on the rock behind him before passing out again.

A small door swings open, revealing another tunnel.

"Dwarves certainly love secret passages" Caelinn says, causing both me and Dwalin to chuckle. She doesn't know the half of it.

"I'll stay here with Bifur and Dwalin, you two go on ahead" Bofur says to me and Caelinn, who nods and charges through the door without a plan, Thunder close to her heals. I follow before she gets too far ahead.

§§§

Caelinn's POV

This is getting crazy. The faster we find Nori, the faster we can get out of here I reason. Why did I ever agree to come? Oh that's right, I was too curious for my own good.

"Just like Alice" I mumble.

"What was that" Kíli asks me.

"Nothing" I say, ducking under a large cobweb. Holding my flaming sword high I search for any sign of Nori. "Is that…blood?" I ask, spying a dark spot on the floor. Lowering the tip of my sword closer to the ground I can see that the dark liquid is exactly what I thought it was. The blood is trickling from further up the tunnel. Raising my gaze I'm greeted by a gruesome sight. "Oh, my gosh" I breathe. There's so much blood everywhere. It's smeared over the walls of the narrow tunnel and pooled on the ground.

I realize the iron smell in the tunnel is actually the smell of the blood. I fight the gag that is inching it's way up my throat. Covering my nose I steady my breathing and swallow the bile in my mouth.

"Stay behind me" Kíli pushes my behind him and draws his sword. "Be ready to run if anything happens" he tells me.

"Like I'm gonna leave you all by yourself" I snap at him. I may be really grossed out, and he may not be in my good books right now, but he's also not in my bad.

"Caelinn" Kíli says, his voice dangerously low.

"No, I'm staying with you no matter what." I tilt my head up to look him in the eye. His eyes are dark and livid, I've never seen him like this before. I gulp and maintain eye contact, determined to have my way.

Kíli raises his arm and places his hand on my shoulder. Leaning closer to me I breathe in his scent. He smells like fresh pine needles and wet dirt. It reminds me of going outside Erebor after a rainstorm. The second prince of Erebor smells like his kingdom. The thought doesn't amuse me like it normally would.

"If something goes wrong you will run" he says firmly. I've never seen Kíli like this, he's nearly the spiting image of Thorin.

"I won't leave you" I say with equal firmness.

"Yes you will" he repeats, letting go of my shoulder he continues up the tunnel.

"No, I won't" I whisper to myself. Taking one last look at the scene behind us I shiver before following after Kíli.

"Stop" Kíli says, moving to stand directly in front of me.

"Kíli I can't see" I move my head around him, trying to catch a glimpse of what is before us. I can see that the pathway opens up into a cavern, but Kíli's hair is blocking my view.

"I don't want you to see this, go back to Dwalin and Bifur" he says. Too late, I've already seen the two dead bodies on the ground.

"What happened to them?" I ask. Was one of them Nori's corpse? Picturing Nori, who is always cheerful and mischievous, dead, it's almost impossible to imagine. Kíli continues to black my view of the bodies. "Kíli!" push him out of the way long enough to see that neither dwarf is Nori.

I sigh in relief. At least we can assume Nori's alive for now.

"If Nori came in here earlier and these two are dead, does that mean that Nori's the one who killed them?" I ask.

"Indeed I did" a cheerful Nori says, appearing out of the shadows.

"Nori, what happened?" Kíli rushes over to the spymaster's side.

"These two jumped me as I was following this path." Nori explains. I notice him clutching his side.

"You're hurt!" I exclaim.

"It's nothing, just a scratch" he brushes me off.

"Just a scratch? You're whole shirt is covered in blood you stubborn dwarf" Nori just shrugs and motions for us over to him.

"Why did you drag them into here?" Kíli motions to the bodies on the ground.

"They were blocking the path, so uncourteous of them don't ya think?" Nori jokes. How can he joke about death like that? "How did your investigations go?" he asks us.

I sum up my adventure with Dwalin and Kíli relates his tale about finding the dead dwarf in his tunnel. Nori's face grows darker with each word Kíli says.

"This isn't good" Nori mumbles. "Did the dwarf have a silver ring on his right hand?"

Kíli mulls over his question for a while before answering.

"Yes, he did. It had a small ruby set into the center." Kíli says.

"Rúmil was one of my contacts. If he's dead, that means he found something he shouldn't have, or he outlived his usefulness." Nori frowns. "Either way, this isn't good. This room has tunnels that open up to every level and home in Erebor. And if somebody digs up enough maps it won't take too long for them to find the secret entrances to the palace." he says.

"We need to tell Uncle about this" Kíli says.

"Yes, we do. And you need to get ready for the next stage" Nori says cheerfully, all seriousness vanishing. "Think you can make it through this year?" he asks Kíli.

Kíli answers back in Khudzul. I really need to pick up some Khudzul, everybody uses it around me when they don't want me to know what they're saying.

"Right, forgot about that." Nori says. "Well good luck to you" he tells Kíli. "And as for you little miss…" he wraps his arm around my shoulder. "Can I place an order for a pair of enchanted knives?" he asks me.

"I think Adad will be more than happy to make them for you" I grin. Heck he'd bend over backwards to please his friends and family.

"No, I want you to make them" he pokes my nose.

"Me?" I shriek. "But I don't have enough experience."

"I want them just like that sword, except I want the whole blade to catch on fire " he winks at me before surging forward so I can't protest. "And I want them by the end of next week" he calls over his shoulder.

"But that means I'll have to work on my vacation" I whine.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading everyone! I have a question for everybody: Do you want a prequel to the Blacksmith's Apprentice that features Thorin and Sarah?**

 **Outofthisworldgal:** Sadly yes, yes it does.

 **Demona Evernight:** I'm not really sure he's going to get out of this one. I'm glad you're enjoying this so far!


	25. Chapter 24

**Sorry I'm twelve hours late. This chapter was rather tough to write. All rights belong to Tolkien, except for the characters I own.**

 **~Chapter 24~**

"Safe and sound" I sigh, collapsing on my bed, rolling onto my back. What a morning. The sun hasn't even risen and I'm already tired. Then again, isn't everybody?

The memory of Kíli forcing me to train every morning before the tournament causes me to rethink that. It seems like ages ago I was down there exercising my neglected leg muscles and alternating between wanting to strangle Kíli and laughing with him. I can't believe it's only been four days. Four days since that day I was checking out his butt.

I cover my face, trying to erase the embarrassment I feel. I try to reason that I feel nothing for him and that it's all the fault of…I search for something to blame.

"Hormones." I conclude "Stupid teenage hormones" I say, convincing myself. Almost.

"Caelinn" Eideth, no, Mother, I remind myself, knocks. "Can I come in?"

"Sure" I say more cheerfully than I mean to.

"How did it go?" she asks me, sitting next to me.

"It was alright. Explored some tunnels, had a few exciting things happen to us" I say, leaving out all the bad bits.

"Glóiron and Nori told me everything" Mother says. I internally groan. I should know better than to hide things from her, she always finds out sooner or later.

"It's crazy!" I sit up. "There was a dead informant, two dead bad guys and stuff I'm not really sure I understand. Why would someone want to assassinate Thorin? Why is there an underground highway? Why didn't they use that to get to Smaug? And why was I dragged into this?" I say in one breath.

"Should I answer those chronologically or in order of importance?" Mother teases me. I give her the 'just give me a straight answer' look. "Alright" she begins, "A king has many enemies and Thorin is no exception. And those enemies will do anything within their power to bring Thorin down so they can take his place."

"But why? Why would anybody want so much responsibility? I can't imagine being a ruler is easy or fun. You have to maintain good relations with other nations, deal with annoying people, be a role model, a pillar of strength for your people, a-" I stop, Mother's giving me that look. I interrupted her and she doesn't like it. I lower my hands and allow her to continue.

"A member of the royal family is all those things and more." Mother says. "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted; there are bad people in this world. They're greedy, selfish and cruel. I can't answer why they are this way, just be aware that they are there and watch out for them. Don't let those people bring poison into your life" she advises me.

I nod, waiting for her to continue.

"The underground highway is a mystery. It's been there since the beginnings of Erebor and has been forgotten and supposedly unused for several centuries. I imagine Visha is responsible for it's rediscovery." Eideth, no, Mother, rolls her eyes. "No one knows where is begins or where it ends. As for why you've been 'dragged into this,' our royal family needs as many trustworthy allies as they can get. You can be a great asset to Thorin."

"How?" I ask. What can I really do? Nori said he needed my sword in the caves but all I used it for was a light source. Maybe he just wanted to see how well it worked.

"Give yourself a little credit my dear. You are capable of being many great things" she smiles.

"Like what?" I ask.

"You are capable of becoming Glóiron's successor in the near future. Becoming a better cook" she gives me an evil grin. She knows I hate cooking. "A good mother, and perhaps a good wife and princess of Erebor" she says hopefully.

"No" I raise my finger "no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Did I mention: No" I say. "Those last three are not for me. I might make a good mother, might. But a wife and a princess. That is a stretch of the imagination" I scoff.

"Life is full of many unexpected turns, there are no guarantees on how it will unfold." Mother says, getting of my bed. "I think you should wear your red dress today" she opens up my wardrobe.

Memories of blood smeared walls and puddles of blood trigger a gag.

"I don't think I ever want to see the color red again" I say, trying to control my stomach. Mother understands and darts over to a green and ivory gown. A dress I've never worn in the last six months I've had it.

"How about this one" she tells me, not asks or suggests, tells. She holds it up for me to inspect before she forces it over my head.

The skirt is a bit too flowing for my liking. The dress itself is green with a high scoop neckline and slightly puffed shoulders connected to long, flowing, ivory colored sleeves. It looks like a cross between one of Arwen's dresses and Medieval fashion, but is undeniably beautiful.

"I think it will look marvelous" Mother declares.

Perhaps on a perfectly constructed mannequin or an elf, not some plain little girl with dirty blonde hair, small boobs and absolutely no height.

"Alright" I submit. "It's not like I have a choice" I mumble.

"What was that?" Mother asks.

"Nothing" I smile. "Just can't wait for the tournament to begin."

"I don't know why, it' not all that exciting." she tells me.

"Why?"

"Because it's just a bunch of half-naked men wrestling in the dirt." she sniffs. Half-naked? Half-naked as in just in their underwear or just without their shirts?

Let's just hope it's shirt-less. It's already scary enough seeing human men in nothing but their underwear, I can't imagine how scary it would be to see dwarves in nothing but their underwear. I shudder at the thought.

Mother lays the dress on top of the bed before leaving. I have hours to get ready, so I decide to get a bath and study my magic book. Things are beginning to get interesting.

Sliding into the steaming water, every muscle in my body relaxes. Nothing beats a nice hot bath. I sigh and lean against the back of the tub, closing my eyes.

"Caeyin?" startles me out of my relaxation.

"Heidi" I smile at the sleepy dwarf girl. Her red hair is tangled and her nightgown is rumpled. "What are you doing awake?" I hold my arms out to her, careful to stay hidden behind the side of the bathtub, not like there's much to hide. She stumbles into my arms and rests her head against my shoulder.

"I had a bad dream" she mumbles into my neck.

"What was it about?" I pat her back.

"Don't remember." Heidi sniffs. I rub her back and rock her side to side. Maybe Eideth, Mother, is right, maybe I will be a good mother, someday.

"Can you go sit on my bed while I finish getting a bath. I'll be real quick" I promise her. Heidi nods and totters out of the bathroom.

I wash up as quick as I can and wrap a towel around myself. Coming out of the bathroom I smile. Heidi is sprawled across my bed, sound asleep.

I tiptoe over to her and plant a quick kiss on her forehead. Grabbing my underthings and the dress as quietly as I can, I scurry back to the bathroom to get dressed.

Towel drying my hair is one of the things I can never get fond of. I miss having a hairdryer and non-ouch hairbrushes.

A wave of homesickness washes over me. I go back to my bed and drag out the hollowed out book. Making sure Heidi's asleep, I open it up and pull out my iPhone.

Swallowing hard, I click the button. The screen lights up, making me wince. I type in the passcode, 4663, home.

I picked the passcode when we moved to London and I was trying to convince myself that it was home. I had lived in the same house my whole life and that move was not only scary, but heartbreaking. My family broke apart and I was in a new place, new school, new country. Nothing was the same after that move.

I stare at the picture of me and my family. I see Ethan, Evan, and Natalie. The twin boys, so identical that our mom could never tell them apart. The same squinty-eye smile plasters their faces, and thick locks of black hair cover their foreheads in the exact same way. Natalie with her pale blonde hair and sweet little baby face all bundled up in her pink crotchet blanket.

Looking at them makes my heart ache. Natalie doesn't know who I am, she must be nearly four now. And the twins. Not even eight then, are almost thirteen.

Tears creep into my eyes. No one can ever replace what I've lost. Four years is not very long at all, but it feels like all the time in world.

I miss them, so much. I stifle a sob that escapes my throat, closing my eyes to keep the tears from falling.

Fabric shifting on the bed stirs me from my self-pity. Heidi's tossing about. I pull myself onto the bed and gently rub her back.

She stills instantly. I look from the phone in my hand to her. I can't get back what I've lost, but I can move forward. I don't have my brothers and sister anymore. But I have Heidi. I don't have my human family anymore, but I have people who care about me and want me in their lives.

Maybe, maybe it's time to move on and stop clinging to the past. I look at the phone and make a decision.

I grab one of my boots and bring it to the bathroom. Removing the phone from it's case I set it on the floor. I slide the boot onto my foot and bring it down hard on the phone.

Feeling a sense of freedom, I raise my foot, expecting to see the phone cracked and ruined. It's not even dented. Maybe I didn't hit it hard enough.

I stomp on it again. It's still in one piece. How have so many people broken these on accident when I can't even break it on purpose?

I angle my foot so the heel will hit the screen. I hear a crack as my boot makes contact.

A blue sparks pushes my foot of the phone, sending my falling to the ground. More sparks fly from the cracked phone, hissing and popping out of the ruined screen.

All the sudden the sparking stops and all becomes quiet. Inching towards the phone, I see that the screen's been fixed. I pick it up and inspect it. It's as good as new.

"How the hell?" I press the button. The screen lights up as it always does.

What just happened?

* * *

 **What do you think happened?**

Outofthisworldgal: There's a lot of fishy things going on.

Phacia (Guest): I hope you liked this chapter


	26. Chapter 25

**Enjoy! All rights belong to Tolkien, except for the characters I own.**

 **~Chapter 25~**

What the heck just happened? I continue to inspect the phone. I don't know what to do. Perhaps I should show this to Gandalf. Wait, I can't. I let him believe that I got rid of it like he told me to.

 _'It would be best if you throw it into the river.' the wrinkled old wizard tells me. He raises the stem of his pipe to his lips and inhales deeply before releasing a puff of smoke that billows up into a pristine blue sky._

 _Walking towards the river, I look between the wizard and the phone in my hand. Standing before the gushing river I wait for Gandalf's gaze to avert. A flock of birds bursting out of a nearby tree creates the distraction I need. Quickly scooping up a rock the size of my fist, I hurl it into the depths of the river as I slip my phone into the inside pocket of my jacket._

Perhaps I should have done what he had told me to do all those years ago. But I don't know if what just happened is good or bad.

Sarah. Sarah's from the same time as me. Maybe she'll know something. I just have to find her.

Quickly switching my dress for a pair of breeches and a shirt, I step out of my bedroom to look for Gandalf or Bilbo, they'll know where Sarah is.

Walking down the hall, I'm careful not to make any noise. Making my way to the living room, I falter when I see Gandalf sitting in a dwarf-sized chair by the fireplace, his legs scrunched up to his chest as he peacefully smokes his pipe.

"Gandalf" I say tentatively. The old man stirs out of his thoughts.

"Oh, hello. What brings you here at this hour?" he asks me.

"I was looking for you actually." I say, sitting down in the chair opposite of him.

"I see." he says, blowing out a smoke ring that floats into the fireplace.

"Do you know where I can find Sarah?" I ask.

"So you didn't come here to see me then?" he chuckles. "Why do you wish to see Sarah?"

"Well, I kinda got myself into a mess and I'm hoping that she can help me out of it" I explain. I know better than to lie to the wizard, he knows what my truth face and lie face look like.

"What sort of mess?" Gandalf asks, concerned. I struggle to come up with a truth.

"Kíli" I answer honestly, he is one of the things I'm having problems with. Gandalf's face goes from concerned to amused. "It's not funny" I cry out when the wizard starts chuckling.

"I should have known" Gandalf chuckles. "Sarah will be attending today's tournament. I'm sure you'll have no problem finding her. So tell me, how have you been these last few years?" he leans forwards.

"I'll tell you if you tell me what you've been up to" I say cheekily. I'm actually curious about what the old man's been doing. I've always wondered what he was doing between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

"Ah, I've been around." he averts his eyes and smokes his pipe.

"Around?" I raise an eyebrow. He's evading my question.

"Yes, around. Visited Radagast, Lord Elrond, and Beorn, they all send you their regards." he says.

"I hope they're all doing well" I say.

"They're all in fine health however, as I was passing by Mirkwood a young elf prince inquired after you." It's Gandalf's turn to raise his eyebrow.

"How is Legolas doing?" I ask, trying not to act suspicious. Even though it's been forever since I've seen him, my heart still stops when I think about him.

"He's doing well, but he seems very put out at the loss of his new friend. In fact, he asked me to give you this." Gandalf reaches into the folds of his robe and brings out a small letter. Handing it to me, I notice a red seal that's been stamped with a birch leaf and two crossed arrows.

I thank Gandalf and slip the letter into the pocket where my iPhone is.

"You're not going to read it?" Gandalf asks.

"Not right now, I've got to bring Thunder outside" I explain. Truth be told, I'm eager to read Legolas' letter, but not in front of Gandalf. Not that I'm expecting a love letter or anything but, a girl can always hope. Right?

Exiting the mountain, I breathe in the grass scented air. The sun is just peeking over the horizon. Thunder prances around searching for just the right spot.

Ignoring him I pull out Legolas' letter. Staring at the seal, my breath catches and my heart is pounding so loudly I can hear it. Biting my lip I break the seal and fold out the paper.

 _'Caelinn,_

 _forgive my sudden departure. Not a day goes by where I don't regret leaving without saying goodbye. I am unable to give you an explanation this moment however, I promise to tell you one day. I would have sent this letter sooner if not for my father, he does not approve of my relations with you. Gandalf tells me that you had a birthday recently, I must congratulate you for your coming of age. I wish I could've been there to tell you in person. I have rewritten this letter twice since Gandalf has arrived. When I sit down to write I know exactly what I want to say, but as the quill touches the paper, I forget everything I wish to tell you. I know that we have not known each other for very long. And I do not know if this is acceptable amongst men, please tell me if I am being too forward with you. This should be done in person however, I am stalling. I wish to formally request a courtship with you. I'll be returning to Erebor at the end of autumn for the Autumn Ball. Please do not send a reply through Gandalf or other, I wish to ask you this in person and be there for you to accept or reject me._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Legolas'_

Crap, Eideth's gonna be pissed.

* * *

 **Outofthisworldgal** :You'll have to keep reading to find out ;)

 **KHandFF7fanforever** : I'm afraid Caelinn doesn't play games or hard to get. And she is anything but charming.

 **Preview of the next chapter:**

 _"Are you enjoying your letter?"_

 _I shriek and turn to meet steely grey eyes. Thunder jumps in front of me, hackles raised, and growls menacingly..._


	27. Chapter 26

**It's Friday! Enjoy this chapter. All rights belong to Tolkien, except for the characters I own.**

 **~Chapter 26~**

"Are you enjoying your letter?"

I shriek and turn to meet steely grey eyes. Thunder jumps in front of me, hackles raised, and growls menacingly at Sarah.

"Oh, hi Sarah. What brings you out here?" I ask, folding up Legolas' letter.

"Couldn't sleep, thought an early morning walk would help me clear my head" she says. "Would you like to walk with me?" she asks. Grinning, I nod and walk beside her, Thunder following close behind. "Nori told me of your trip underground"

"Yeah, it seems he's been telling everyone about it" I sigh.

"He means well, he wants to make sure people understand what you've seen in case you have a panic attack" Sarah tells me.

"Why would I have a panic attack? It's not like I've never seen worse" I say, remembering all those gore filled movies I watched growing up.

"You have to understand that they don't know what our world is like, and we can't make them understand either."

"I know" I sigh, "I just wish that, well…" I falter, unsure of what I'm saying. "I just wish I could figure things out" I say.

"What things?" Sarah asks me, bending down to pick a few of the blue flowers that grow around the mountain.

"How I fit into all of this," I wave my hand around, "and why both Legolas and Kíli are seeking a courtship with me. I'm nothing special I'm just…me" I say.

"Legolas? When did this happen?" Sarah straightens.

"I just got this letter from him" I tell Sarah, bringing out the letter to show her.

Sarah reads over the letter carefully, a smile growing on her face the further she reads before she finally bursts into laughter.

"Oh Legolas, oh my goodness" Sarah laughs, her southern accent growing thicker. "I forgot how much of a sweetheart he is" she sighs. "You've certainly got issues honey. Two very handsome young men, well youngish men" she smiles, "are completely smitten with you. I see your dilemma. How shall you ever choose between them?"

"That's the thing. I don't want to choose either of them, I'm happy being friends. Yeah I've got a little crush on Legolas, but can you imagine me growing old and wrinkly while he stays young and handsome?"

"Then choose yourself. You can call off Kíli's courtship towards you and you can refuse Legolas' proposal."

"But Kíli is trying so hard to get Gloíron's approval by winning the tournament and I'll feel really bad if he does win and I tell him to buzz off!" I whine.

"I understand, but this is you that we're talking about. Do you really want to marry somebody who's love you cannot reciprocate? Do you think Kíli would be happy if you two were to marry and you be miserable in your marriage to him?" Sarah asks me.

I think on her words for a moment.

"No, I wouldn't be happy, but I'm also not happy in refusing him either" I say. "What should I do?" I ask Sarah.

Sarah sighs and stares into the distance.

"I can't tell you what you should do. You need to decide that for yourself" she tells me.

"Then what would you do?" I ask, desperate for some sort of guidance.

"If you do not want to refuse Kíli, then you can delay your courtship with him until you get to know him better. But I don't think this is about you just wanting to be friends with him, I think you're afraid of something. Do mind telling me what it is you are afraid of?"

Sarah casts her steely eyes upon me, searching for answers. I gulp, perhaps I shouldn't have talked to her in the first place. I'm torn between wanting to tell her and wanting to keep it to myself.

Should I tell her or shouldn't I? To tell or not to tell?

"I'm afraid that he is mistaking infatuation for love. I'm afraid that he'll ensnare me heart and soul and leave me when something better comes along" I say.

"Who left you for someone else?" Sarah asks me. I stare at the woman in awe. How does she know?

"My dad left us for another woman" I choke out. "We moved to London six months early so dad could finish up his work before he transferred to their English branch and he met a woman while we were gone" I swallow. "Mom found out when he came to see us and he said he wanted a divorce." Tears begin to blur my vision. I wipe them away and continue. "I begged him not to go, but he did. He said that he loved her. I asked him if he loved me too, but he never answered" I sob "The day I fell into Middle Earth, I was in school when I got a text from him, he and the woman were expecting a baby. I was, it hurt." I say, tears streaming down my face.

The picture of them, so happy together, it was disgusting. His hand wrapped around her back and his other hand covering her hand that rested on her swollen belly.

"Come here" Sarah says, pulling me into a hug. "Just cry it out" she rocks me side to side and pats my back.

"When school ended, I ran as fast as I could, I just wanted to go somewhere no one could see me cry." I say between sobs.

"And you ran into Middle Earth" Sarah finishes for me. I nod, trying to make the tears stop. "Honey" she pulls away from me to look me in the eye, "Kíli will never hurt you. I've not known him as long as I wish to, but I know him well enough to say with complete confidence; he is in love with you. And he will never leave you, he will never intentionally hurt you, and he will always be there for you." She places a hand on my cheek, wiping away my tears with her thumb.

"I know, but what if?" I ask.

"There's no what if about it" Sarah says gently, "If you choose to let him in and love him the way he loves you, he will never stop loving you" she finishes.

"Ok" I nod, wiping the last of my tears away. Sarah brushes my hair off my face in a motherly fashion. Her presence is so warm and comforting. "I can see why Thorin likes you" I say, rubbing my damp eyes.

Sarah blushes and averts her eyes to the ground.

"I'm afraid he doesn't like me anymore" she says so softly, I can barely hear her amidst the light breeze passing by.

"Then he's an idiot" I state, Sarah laughs.

"I'm afraid that you'll find that all men our idiots" Sarah chuckles, I smile, knowing she's right.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot" she says.

"Gandalf told me to get rid of my phone, and I didn't. And today I tried to break it but…" I give her an account of what happened early today. Sarah listens tenaciously before answering.

"It sounds like your device has been enchanted" Sarah says. "May I see it?" I hand her the phone in answer. "You mentioned something about it being at 2% for the last two years yes?" I nod. "Well, it looks like your battery's full" she shows me the screen.

"How is that possible?" I take the phone from her.

"Gandalf once mentioned to me that electric devices can be enchanted as they pass through time portals. I don't know much about the practice of magic but, I don't think you're in any danger" Sarah assures me.

"That's good to know" I say.

"As long as that device is working, do you mind if I borrow it for a few pranks?" Sarah asks me.

"As long as you include me in your plans" I grin.

"Splendid" Sarah smiles.

Heading back to Erebor together, I know that I've made a great friend and a greater ally as we discuss our war plans against several dwarves and one wizard.

* * *

 **Outofthisworldgal:** Yes, the romantic drama, it's almost too dramatic

 **EntityFantasy:** No cliffhangers today!

 **magicmallorie** : Is that a good w** or a bad w**?

 **thewolf74** : I promise a Kíli moment soon, I update almost every Friday.

 **Guest** : To keep you coming back for more ;)

 **Guest** : I'm not sure I ship her with Kíli just yet, I like this thing with Legolas too much to drop it

 **MariaJane716** : Thank you for your praise! I was worried it wasn't original enough.

 **Can this story possibly get 100 favorites or follows? If not, I'll still update until I'm finished. Thanks to everyone who's read this far! I really appreciate your support and enthusiasm.**


	28. Chapter 27

**Happy New Year's Eve! Sorry it's been so long, life got a little more than crazy. I'll try to post every Friday once again. All rights belong to Tolkien, except for the characters I own.**

 **~Chapter 27~**

Donning the jade and ivory dress, I weave my hair into a simple braid and twist it into a bun, pinning it back with some bobby pins. Twirling in the mirror I nod at myself and hurry out of my room.

"Morning" I seat myself at the dinning table, filling my plate with a few sausages and a honey pastry.

"Gugh mornin'" Bilbo, mumbles through a mouthful of food. Swallowing, he wipes his face and fingers with a napkin. "Good morning" he clears his throat, "how did you sleep" he asks politely, delicately picking up a fork and knife.

"I've slept better" I admit, sinking my teeth into the sticky pastry. Flavor explodes across my mouth, the warm honey flavor mixing with the buttery taste of the light and fluffy roll.

"I do not mean to bring up uncomfortable memories but, are you…alright?" Bilbo looks at me with wide eyes and his mouth drawn into a thin line.

"I'm fine, thank you" I say, ignoring memories of the previous night's events.

"Good, right then" Bilbo clears his throat and returns to his platter of food.

We finish our meal in relative silence, the occasional click of silverware breaking the spell.

Bong, bong, bong, the city bell reverberates throughout the mountain, announcing the hour.

Kíli's POV

Eight tolls of the bell, not much longer before the tournament. Looking down at my half-finished platter I feel a tightness in my stomach, quenching any appetite I might have had.

"Kíli, I'm expecting that by this time next year we'll be looking to add another place setting to our table" mum smiles, a twinkle shining within her deep blue eyes.

"Yes I suspect that she will solidify our alliance with the race of men." Uncle says, looking up briefly from some papers he's reading over to give me a grin.

"Thorin" mum reaches over and smacks Uncle across the head. Crying out in pain, Uncle presses his hand to his head in mock pain. "You know that's hardly important. Kíli, marry whoever you want, human or dwarf, as long as its not an elf" she stresses the word elf. A warmth spreads across my face, my flirtation with Tauriel has gotten me into more than a little trouble with my mother.

"Especially, not an elf" Uncle growls.

"That was only one time" I protest.

"One time?" Fíli raises his eyebrow. "Have you forgotten that time in Rivendale?"

"How was I supposed to know that it was a male?" I defend myself. Fíli snickers.

"Regardless, Caelinn will be an advantageous addition to our family in more ways than one" Uncle says.

Mum sighs, looking at me and Fíli with knowing eyes. Uncle has changed since Smaug's death, since the war, since the madness, since Sarah left. Sarah leaving was probably the biggest blow of all. Barely days after the battle ended she had disappeared, not a single word or hint that she was leaving.

She was gone, and I didn't know if Fíli, Uncle or I would live. Uncle recovered slowly, gaining little strength everyday, soon burying himself in the restoration of Erebor and devoting himself to the preservation of our people, not speaking a word about her to anyone.

But we knew, we knew that he was hurt and that his pride would forever get in the way of the apology he owes her. The debt that he must one day pay. She had saved our lives countless times and had left without so much as a coin.

"Well what would you do with so much money?" Sarah asks.

"I'd buy lots of food and have a warm house for my family and get a nice, new dress for our mum" I grin.

"Now what do you suppose I'd do with so much money? I already have a cozy little apartment, plenty of food and clothes. So what do you think I'm lacking in?" Sarah tilts her head to the side, gazing at me with her piercing grey eyes.

"You could buy nice things for your family? An estate of some sort?" I suggest, not really sure what she's asking. Sarah smiles at the ground, letting the conversation be forgotten.

I've always wondered what she was asking, perhaps she wasn't asking me anything, perhaps she had been telling me that she hadn't needed anything.

"…Kíli, Kíli! Are you listening to me?"

"What?" I shake my head, clearing my thoughts.

"I said; are you ready for the tournament?" mum asks me.

A grin spreads across my face. "Did or did we not defeat Smaug?"

"Bard did all the work."

"Shut up Fíli!"

Caelinn's POV

Walking towards the training floors inside, crowds gather around the set up arena, surveying the participants and placing bets. I shake my head at Gloiron, who's discreetly placing a bet while Mother's not looking.

"Who'd you bet on?" I whisper towards him. Gloiron leans close to my ear, whiskers ticking my face and whispers in a voice unaccustomed to speaking quietly.

"Dwalin, he always wins these things"

"Not the prince you promised my hand to?" I sass, knowing very well that isn't what he did.

"I didn' promise yer hand, I'll be grantin' my permission to court you if he wins." Gloiron grumbles, fiddling with a strand of his beard, something he does when he's thinking. Deciding to leave him to his thoughts, I wander over to Mother, who's making small talk with some of the noble dwarrow dams.

"Caelinn, claimed daughter of Eideth, wife of Gloiron, cousin of Oin, distant relation of the King, who in turn, is also a relation of mine." A thick, gravely voice stops me in my tracks, it's Thorin III, Lord Dain's son. "You should learn how to lie better"

"And you should know not to follow women around, you might give yourself a bad reputation if you keep this up" I lick my lips, not daring to turn around and look into his coal black eyes.

"Perhaps, but what of you? Seducing my cousin like you have, what is your aim little girl, what can you possibly gain from wedding that weakling? You're just a human with no ties to us dwarves" he says, circling to face me "nothing to offer us in terms of wealth, knowledge. Perhaps that's why that pathetic excuse for a dwarf prince chose you, because you make the runt look mighty" he concludes, placing his hand atop the axe hanging at his belt.

"He's not weak" I say, clinching my fists. "And the only thing I gain from marrying him is a good man and faithful husband" I say, remembering Sarah's words. Finding the courage somewhere within myself, I look straight into his squinty black eyes, challenging him to push back me down. "Kíli doesn't need me to look mighty, he is great on his own, he's brave, loyal, he loves his family and his people. And he may not be perfect, but he's not weak, the only weakling here is you." I jab my finger at him. "Imagine you, a battle hardened dwarf, afraid of being outshone by your own kin. You push him down instead of pushing yourself to be of better character. You're nothing more than a bully." I cross my arms, starting to feel a bit shaky, my sudden burst of courage has run it's course. My knees begin to quake, threatening to give out at any moment.

Little Thorin narrows his eyes at me even further, knuckles of the hand covering his axe turning white. "I will not forget this insult girl, you'd better watch your back" brushing past me he disappears into the crowd, leaving me with a pounding heart, sweaty palms and legs like jelly.

Slowly turning, I look for a place to sit or lean against until I get myself back to normal. Trying not to stagger, I move myself towards a fallen pillar that is being used by some children as a balance beam.

Sitting down, I can't stop the shaking that follows. I've never done such a thing in my life, standing up for anyone, not even for myself. It felt awful!

The noon bell tolls, vibrating the city inside the mountain. It's time for the match to begin. Taking a deep breath, I try to calm myself, this is not how I was planning my day to go.

 **Stay tuned for the next chapter, hopefully I'll have it posted by Friday. Thank you everyone who's followed this story this far!**


	29. Chapter 28

**And I have chapter 28 up right on time! All rights belong to Tolkien, except for the characters I own.**

 **~Chapter 28~**

 **Caelinn's POV**

"Caelinn, are you alright?" a sweet voice asks. It's Gertrude. Conjuring up a smile I attempt to hide my discomfort.

"I'm alright. How are you?" I stand and clasp her hands in mine, a sign of friendship and trust between female dwarves.

"…I'm well. And I saw you give Thorin III some sauce just a moment ago." Gertrude brings our hands up to chest level, stepping closer to me. "I can't believe you did that to him!" she squeals.

"Neither can I" I mumble. "I don't know what came over me."

"It doesn't matter" Gertrude releases my hands and loops her arm in mine, "the match is starting and we have someone we need to cheer on" she drags me towards the two arenas.

"Who?" I rack my brain trying to figure out who we needed to cheer for.

"Mr. Dwalin and the princes of course!"

"Kíli?" I whisper shout. "Why on earth would I want to cheer him on? He's the one I'm trying to avoid" I say.

"Well I want to cheer on Fíli" Gertrude sniffs, a small blush and smile gracing her features.

She likes Fíli. I should have known. Rolling my eyes I half-listen to her explain the matches and how the last twenty-four standing proceed to the next phase.

"So is there any order in which the contestants go?" I interrupt.

"Not particularly, those who made it into a place between 1st and 50th will pair off and eliminate each other until we reach twenty four contestants. Once we have twenty-four remaining, the real matches begin. No one is required to participate in the elimination process, but it is seen as honorable to face at least one opponent before things get competitive." Gertrude explains. Mr. Dwalin doesn't have to participate, but he probably will anyway" she shrugs.

"Why doesn't he have to participate?" I ask.

"The winner of the last phase is given immunity in this match. Even if he loses every single match in this phase he is still granted a…" Gertrude stops in her tracks, lips pinched together into a thin line. Bringing up her hand she motions in a small circle, trying to find the word or phrase.

"Free pass to the next phase?" I offer up.

"Exactly!" Gertrude exclaims, snapping her fingers simultaneously. "Because we need exactly fourteen contestants in the next phase, the winner of the previous phase and the loser of the last match are allowed to proceed to the fourth phase."

A bell sounds nearby, signaling the start of the matches, and King Thorin's big speech.

"Dwarves of Erebor, the Iron Hills, and the Blue Mountains!" Thorin speaks from the nobles' box, raising his arms out to the side, raising the people into a cheer. "Now, we start the third phase of Bekar Gelekh: the wrestling match" the king grins, surprising me. Very rarely does that man smile at…pretty much anything. "As you all know" he continues, "it is a test of strength in a battle without weapons, a test of endurance and skill in hand-to-hand combat. And with no further delay; let the match begin!" A bell tolls, raising a loud war cry from the dwarves.

The dwarves matched against each other in the two arenas prepare to fight. I wander to the arena on the left, not really knowing how to gage a good fight or not.

The largest dwarf in the arena is wearing a pale green tunic and brown leggings, his beard braided into two long strands and adorned with silver beads. His large round eyes keep watch on his circling opponent, who's a whole head shorter than him and twice as wide, dressed only in his leggings, revealing his bulging chest and arm muscles and long Irish-red back hair.

They circle each other slowly, watching, waiting, observing. The smaller one strikes first. He tackles the larger dwarf in the middle, brining them both to the ground. The larger dwarf grips the smaller one's wild red hair and pulls his head back, pinning him to the ground. The little dwarf releases his hold and grips the big dwarf's wrists, twisting in an outward motion, making the big dwarf release the little one's unkempt red hair.

Tumbling away from one another, they take a stand at opposite ends of the arena.

 **Kíli's POV**

"And there goes Klein" Fíli comments as the wild red headed dwarf knocks the tall, well-groomed dwarf out of the arena.

"He never stood a chance" I shake my head. These nobles should really think twice about entering these things, especially if they've never seen a real battle.

Leaning back against the wall of the nobles box, I watch the other match going on. I don't recognize either of the dwarves wrestling, but they're putting up a good fight.

"Another one bites the dust" I watch as one of the dwarves is hurtled out of the arena into a cloud of dust. "Think that'll leave a mark?"

"Oh yeah, his face will be all swollen and purple by the end of the day" Fíli chuckles, leaning closer to whisper. "Are you ready to win your fair lady's hand?" he smacks me on the back.

"Think I can do it?" I breathe out heavily. "Glóiron set the bar pretty high" I pick at a loose string on my sleeve, musing over all the possibilities of failure that lie before me.

"It's not impossible" Fíli shrugs. "But, I don't think either of us have extremely good chances of becoming the champion of this decade's Bekar Gelekh." Fíli shifts his weight to his good leg, the one that wasn't broken by his fall two years ago. "And even so, I don't think your task is about winning, I think he has something else in mind" Fíli says, brow scrunching up. "He always plays games only he understands."

He's right, Glóiron never does anything without reason. Glóiron is much like Nori in many respects, only more crafty and conniving.

"Well let's hope that the games he's playing right now work out in our favor" I tug off the string on my sleeve. Fíli grunts in agreement, leaving to go find a partner to battle.

Shrugging, I follow to do the same.

 **Caelinn's POV**

After what felt like an age, Mr. Dwalin, Kíli and Fíli take their places to fight as three of the final twenty-four. Every dwarf in Erebor has gathered to see their princes prove their might at hand-to-hand combat. Dwalin against Fíli, and Kíli against the guy who came in forth place of the last phase.

The match bell rings, and Kíli rushes right in against his opponent, a small, slender dwarf who is light on his feet.

Dodging Kíli's lunge, the dwarf whirls around and tackles him from behind. Being too small to pin Kíli down to the ground Kíli throws himself backwards, slamming the smaller dwarf onto the ground. Pinned between Kíli and the ground, the dwarf wraps his arms around the prince's neck.

 **Kíli's POV**

Can't breath, he's got me. I'm not going to make it. I scramble for his arms, trying to pull them off. Gaping for air like a fish, I feel like I've lost. The match bell tolls one, two, three. Once it strikes the fifth toll, I will have lost.

I see her, just briefly in my struggle. Hands gripping her arms as she watches me fail.

I slam my head against my opponents face. I feel the sickening crunch of his nose more than hear it. He lets go and I scramble away.

He's fast, light on his feet, unusual for a dwarf. Then again, I'm the one who's talking.

He watches me, cupping his nose. Blood trickles down his beard, dripping onto his tunic. I need to be as fast as him and twice as strong. Clenching my fists I charge in, one hit to the head or abdomen is all I need to bring him down. He dodges my blows, ducking down to tackle me again. Jumping back, I narrowly avoid getting trapped again. It goes on like this for some time, charging in, him dodging my blows, trying to tackle me, me jumping out of the way.

Never once does he try to take a swing at me. I need a new approach. Instead of taking him down with one blow like I intended, I search my brain for another way.

I swing at him with my right hand, as predicted, he ducks down, leaving himself blind to my actions. Moving behind him, I grip his neck and arms, shoving him to the ground in a hold that requires pure strength to get out of. With his arms pinned behind his back and my weight on top of him, there's absolutely no way he'll be able to get out.

I feel his legs thrashing behind us as he squirms beneath me, trying to get out. The bell tolls once, then twice. I let go at the end of the fifth toll.

Standing up, I offer him my hand. He glares at me, refusing my hand and getting up on his own and storming away.

I search the cheering crowds for her. Turning this way and that, I don't stop until my eyes rest upon her. I smile at her, she returns a small, sweet smile, the type you give to strangers.

The air leaves my lungs, leaving an ache in my chest. I stare at her, wondering what this means.

"Well done Kíli, Fíli!" Uncle claps me on the back, wrapping his arms around our shoulders. "This call for a feast in honor of my nephews!" he proclaims, guiding us away from the arena and her.

 **And there you have it! Thanks to everyone who's followed me this far and for being so patient.**

 **Oddity Empress: I'm glad you liked it!**

 **MissCallaLilly: Thank you!**


	30. Chapter 29

**Sorry I'm late, I had an unexpected bump in the road along the way. All rights belong to Tolkien, except for the characters I own.**

 **~Chapter 29~**

 **Caelinn's POV**

He did it. He made it to the next phase. I watch as their uncle leads them away from the arenas. I'm glad he won, but, I also don't want him to win the tournament at the same time.

And Legolas, he's coming back soon to ask for my hand in person. For one second my heart feels like it wants to soar out of my chest. Legolas is coming back for the Autumn Ball in Dale. There'll be music, dancing, bobbing for apples, and hay rides. I mentally giggle at the image of Legolas bobbing for apples.

But, I'm human, I'll be lucky if I make it to sixty or eighty here, and by then I'll be old and wrinkly. Would he want that? Cause I know that I don't want to be old and slow while he remains young and handsome. That's just not right.

I blow up my cheeks, contemplating what I'm going to do about my second suitor, well, second suitor that I know personally. The others I saw were just customers that came in every so often.

"You look like a chipmunk dear" A powerful female voice says.

"Lady Dis!" I curtsy as quickly as I can, being carful not to step on the hem of my dress.

"Now, now" Lady Dis raises her jewelry covered hands, "There's no need for that, from what I just witnessed we'll most likely be family by this time next year" she grins, a twinkle lighting her smiling blue eyes.

"Oh, uh…um, yeah. Kíli made it to the next phase" I laugh nervously. I really don't know what to do, I don't want to say 'no' after all's he gone through for me. And I don't want to hurt his feelings.

"So did Fíli" Sarah walks up wearing the same white fur cloak, brown leggings and blue tunic she arrived to Erebor in. "Hello, you must be Lady Dis" Sarah inclines her head. "Your boys have told me so much about you that I feel like I know you" she grins.

"Oh! Miss Sarah!" Dis embraces the little woman. "The boys told me that you were here but I never could find time to pay a visit." Dis lets go of Sarah and clasps their hands together. "Thank you so much for looking after my family, I don't know what I would've done if I had lost them" her voice shakes.

"You and me both" Sarah smiles weakly. "And it was no problem, they are wonderful boys, you should be very proud of them."

"Oh, I am. While I love my boys equally, I'm especially proud of Kíli right now" Dis grins the same smirky grin that Kíli gets when he's doing something mischievous. I wonder exactly how much those two have in common.

"Yes, I heard the news" Sarah turns to me. "I must congratulate you two on your upcoming engagement." Sarah winks at me, I know she's teasing. But it doesn't stop me from being a little mad at her.

"Speaking of which," Dis turns to me. "I'm personally inviting you and Sarah to sit at our table tonight."

Oh! I'm sorry, I can't actually" I stutter, looking for an excuse. "I'm working on a project for," think you idiot. "Nori, right now. He want a pair of enchanted knives" I finish, hoping I've gotten myself out of sitting right next to Kíli.

"You're absolutely certain that it can't wait?" Dis asks me, suspicion lacing her voice.

"He wants them by the end of this week, I'm already a day behind" I reason.

"Well then you better hop to it" Sarah interrupts, cueing me to run as fast as I can.

"Right! I'll see you later Lady Dis" I curtsy clumsily and patter away as fast as I can in my long dress.

Maybe I should set a fashion trend for shorter dresses. A vision of hairy dwarf legs makes me reconsider that. I can only imagine what horrors lie beneath dwarf women's skirts. For now, I owe Sarah. And I expect her to ask me to pay my debt today.

 **Alright! That about wraps it up for this week. Let me know what you guys think! See you on Friday!**

 **Oddity Empress** : I've never heard of Knight's Tale, I'm gonna have to check that out.

 **pallysd'Artagnan** : I know! I can't believe how much has happened in the last few chapters either. I can't wait to find out what's gonna happen next\

 **MissCallaLilly** : Don't worry, I won't forget Thranduil, everyone's going to have a bit of screen time before the end.


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